A recently passed amendment to labor laws that will loosen restrictions on unions’ ability to strike sparked anger and criticism among labor representatives and academics yesterday, who said the government had put too many restrictions on workers in certain sectors.
The Settlement of Labor-Management Dispute Act (勞資爭議處理法) initially stipulated that union members must vote on whether to support a strike by attending an assembly and voting in person, a rule that is generally regarded as a means to deter strikers.
The amendment the legislature passed on Friday would allow a union to announce a strike as long as more than half of its members show support by an anonymous vote, but without requiring all members to attend a union assembly in person, which is difficult for large unions.
However, labor groups including the Taiwan Labor Front and the National Federation of Independent Trade Unions (NAFITU) slammed a requirement in the amendment that “rights items,” such as employment contracts, collective bargaining agreements or other legally based agreements must be settled by means of judicial arbitration because the process often drags out, putting workers at a disadvantage.
The amendment also requires that industries dealing with public safety, including water, electric and gas utilities as well as medical institutions, set a “minimum level” of service in the event of a strike.
The minimum level must be negotiated between management and workers before a strike begins.
Lin Chia-ho (林佳和), an assistant professor of law at National Chengchi University, criticized the clause, saying that it was similar to “asking for an opponent’s permission before starting a fight.”
As long as an employer refuses to reach an agreement with the union on what constitutes a “minimum level” of service, a union would be unable to legally announce a strike, he said.
The amendment “imposes more restrictions on laborers” and “makes no sense,” he said.
“No industry should be denied the right to strike,” said Son Yu-lian (孫友聯), secretary-general of the Taiwan Labor Front.
NAFITU president Chu Wei-li (朱維立) said that even if the law gave workers the right to strike, it did not mean they would announce a strike whenever a labor-management conflict arises.
Rather, it would give unions more bargaining power when negotiating with management, Chu said.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) and Chunghwa Telecom yesterday confirmed that an international undersea cable near Keelung Harbor had been cut by a Chinese ship, the Shunxin-39, a freighter registered in Cameroon. Chunghwa Telecom said the cable had its own backup equipment, and the incident would not affect telecommunications within Taiwan. The CGA said it dispatched a ship under its first fleet after receiving word of the incident and located the Shunxin-39 7 nautical miles (13km) north of Yehliu (野柳) at about 4:40pm on Friday. The CGA demanded that the Shunxin-39 return to seas closer to Keelung Harbor for investigation over the
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
An apartment building in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) collapsed last night after a nearby construction project earlier in the day allegedly caused it to tilt. Shortly after work began at 9am on an ongoing excavation of a construction site on Liuzhang Street (六張街), two neighboring apartment buildings tilted and cracked, leading to exterior tiles peeling off, city officials said. The fire department then dispatched personnel to help evacuate 22 residents from nine households. After the incident, the city government first filled the building at No. 190, which appeared to be more badly affected, with water to stabilize the
EARTHQUAKE: Taipei and New Taipei City accused a construction company of ignoring the Circular MRT’s original design, causing sections to shift by up to 92cm The Taipei and New Taipei City governments yesterday said they would seek NT$1.93 billion (US$58.6 million) in compensation from the company responsible for building the Circular MRT Line, following damage sustained during an earthquake in April last year that had shuttered a section for months. BES Engineering Corp, a listed company under Core Pacific Group, was accused of ignoring the original design when constructing the MRT line, resulting in negative shear strength resistance and causing sections of the rail line between Jhonghe (中和) and Banciao (板橋) districts to shift by up to 92cm during the April 3 earthquake. The pot bearings on
RSS