Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) yesterday said that the KMT would not sit on its hands while the public suffers from potential price hikes caused by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration’s changes to labor laws, adding that the party’s lawmakers and a think tank are drawing up amendments to fix the problem.
At an afternoon meeting of the KMT’s Central Standing Committee, Hung said action must be taken in light of Premier Lin Chuan’s (林全) remark that the “one fixed day off and one flexible rest day” policy would inevitably lead to a general rise in the cost of living.
Lin said in an interview with the Chinese-language China Times published on Tuesday that the amendment of the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) was aimed at reducing the working hours of employees, but it is impossible that can be achieved without an increase in consumer prices.
Photo: CNA
President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration has neglected to address issues that surfaced when the government was still debating the feasibility of the changes, Hung said, adding that the controversy is ripping the nation apart.
The DPP elected to adopt the “one fixed day off and one flexible rest day” policy, which increases overtime payments and relaxes annual leave standards in a bid to win the support of young people, Hung said.
However, the policy’s implementation would cause more than 70 percent of workers to suffer the consequences of raised prices for commodities or be laid off, she said.
Hung also blasted what she called the DPP’s double standards on price hikes, citing as an example the widely condemned decision of former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) administration to raise the prices for electricity and natural gas.
“Ma’s administration faced vicious criticism [from the DPP] at the time, but now Tsai’s administration makes price hikes sound like a matter of course. The KMT will not allow the situation to go unchecked and is starting to look into measures that would mitigate the impacts of the legislation,” Hung said.
Taipei Chamber of Commerce director-general Wang Ying-chieh (王應傑), who was invited by the KMT to give a speech about the possible outcomes of the amendments in yesterday’s committee meeting, said the public transportation industry has been the most hard-hit by the policy.
Wang said the industry has arrived at a consensus that it would start hiking ticket prices at the latest after the Lantern Festival next month.
Wang said that the industry estimates an increase of 8 percent in operation costs due to the implementation of the policy, adding that the transportation industry is seeking to adapt by cutting down the total number of shifts employees work and raising ticket prices.
Additional reporting by CNA
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