Tens of thousands of labor union members and workers from various industries yesterday braved intermittent rain and took to the streets in Taipei on International Workers’ Day, demanding an immediate end to overwork, long working hours, stagnant salaries and the employment of temporary workers.
Holding flags and signs outlining their demands, more than 10,000 nurses, police officers, firefighters, migrant workers, flight attendants, pilots, teachers and finance workers gathered along Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office Building yesterday afternoon to protest against work exploitation and accuse the government of having turned a blind eye to their predicaments.
“We workers are no fools,” Taiwan Confederation of Trade Unions director-general Chuang Chueh-an (莊爵安), the leader of the rally, told the large crowd of protesters.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
“The government has rolled out several draft bills concerning basic-level employees since the nine-in-one elections and the awakening of civic groups last year … but without a stiff penalty and a government agency overseeing corporations, these bills will only end up creating more loopholes for employers,” Chuang said.
Singling out amendments to the so-called “four laws for pay raises” recently proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), Taoyuan County Confederation of Trade Unions chairman Chuang Fu-kai (莊福凱) said that even if the four draft bills were passed, they would still not be binding on corporations because there were no penalties stipulated for non-compliance.
“If corporations refuse to negotiate with labor unions and workers, there is nothing the government can do about it,” Chuang Fu-kai said. “These draft bills are just another ‘guava check’ issued by the government and legislators that aims only to attract votes and does workers no good.”
Photo: Reuters
Guava check (芭樂票) is a common colloquial Taiwanese term used to refer to bounced checks or broken promises.
Chuang Fu-kai was referring to draft amendments to the Company Act (公司法), the Factory Act (工廠法), the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act (中小企業發展條例).
If passed, they would require companies to distribute profits, if any, to employees in the form of pay increases and bonuses. Tax cuts would also be provided for firms that offer salary increases to their employees.
Walking at the head of the rally — which set out from Ketagalan Boulevard at about 2pm and ended in front of the Legislative Yuan at about 3:30pm — were medical personnel, firefighters, police officers, flight attendants and foreign workers, because they are commonly perceived as the most exploited groups of employees in the nation.
A 23-year-old nurse, who wished to be identified only by her surname Chang (張), said there was a time during her previous employment at the Taipei Veterans General Hospital’s Hsinchu Branch that she passed out after her heavy workload allowed her to consume only a bottle of juice the entire day.
“Most of the time, only two nurses were on duty in the emergency department due to a severe personnel shortage. Not only were our health and well-being in jeopardy because of this, but also the lives of our patients,” Chang said.
Another 23-year-old hospital nurse, named Huang Yi-hsuan (黃奕萱), said her job often required her to work 16 hours straight and that she has been rushed to an emergency room three times since she started her current job due to exhaustion.
“Hospital authorities never understand the amount of pressure and work we face on a daily basis. All they care about is profit,” Huang said, adding that she was thinking about finding a less stressful job in the medical aesthetics industry.
A 28-year-old man surnamed Chen (陳), who identified himself as the close acquaintance of a police officer, said that because of staff shortages, police officers suffer from working hours that last as long as 12 hours a day and add up to 88 hours a month.
“Police work requires a high level of focus and often involves dangerous tasks. Having them work long hours is as hazardous as asking an exhausted surgeon to perform a delicate, complex surgery,” Chen said.
After arriving in front of the Legislative Yuan, protesters pelted papier-mache guavas toward the building in a symbolic gesture of giving back the “guava checks” to lawmakers.
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
CRITICAL MOVE: TSMC’s plan to invest another US$100 billion in US chipmaking would boost Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market, the premier said The government would ensure that the most advanced chipmaking technology stays in Taiwan while assisting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in investing overseas, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The statement follows a joint announcement by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and US President Donald Trump on Monday that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US, which would include construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. The government knew about the deal in advance and would assist, Presidential
‘DANGEROUS GAME’: Legislative Yuan budget cuts have already become a point of discussion for Democrats and Republicans in Washington, Elbridge Colby said Taiwan’s fall to China “would be a disaster for American interests” and Taipei must raise defense spending to deter Beijing, US President Donald Trump’s pick to lead Pentagon policy, Elbridge Colby, said on Tuesday during his US Senate confirmation hearing. The nominee for US undersecretary of defense for policy told the Armed Services Committee that Washington needs to motivate Taiwan to avoid a conflict with China and that he is “profoundly disturbed” about its perceived reluctance to raise defense spending closer to 10 percent of GDP. Colby, a China hawk who also served in the Pentagon in Trump’s first team,
The arrival of a cold front tomorrow could plunge temperatures into the mid-teens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Temperatures yesterday rose to 28°C to 30°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and 32°C to 33°C in central and southern Taiwan, CWA data showed. Similar but mostly cloudy weather is expected today, the CWA said. However, the arrival of a cold air mass tomorrow would cause a rapid drop in temperatures to 15°C cooler than the previous day’s highs. The cold front, which is expected to last through the weekend, would bring steady rainfall tomorrow, along with multiple waves of showers
RSS