The National Alliance for Workers of Closed Factories yesterday vowed to continue fighting for the interests and dignity of workers by staging a series of protests this year that will begin with a rally at Taipei Railway Station today.
Today’s protest is scheduled to begin at 3pm and marks the one-year anniversary of a demonstration the group staged last year at the station that made headlines across the nation.
The organization was formed by former employees of several large factories who either retired or were laid off 16 years ago without receiving any severance or retirement pay after their workplaces were shut down.
To assist these workers, the government agreed to give them loans that had to be repaid only after they had found new jobs. However, the workers then started receiving payment due notices from the Council of Labor Affairs asking them to pay back the loans, including interest and late fees.
The notices sparked a series of protests, with labor rights advocates arguing that the government should not ask the former employees to repay the loans because the council was party to blame for failing to ensure that the employers had sufficient funds for their staff’s retirement payouts.
The council also neglected to seek compensation from the employers after they shut down their factories, the alliance said.
The loans that the laid-off workers received should be considered as part of a “national compensatory fund” to repair the damage done by the government’s administrative negligence, the rights advocates added.
The plight of the alliance members came into the national spotlight on Feb. 5 last year when nearly 100 workers paralyzed the Taiwan Railways Administration system by jumping off the platforms and laying on the tracks at Taipei Railway Station.
“It [the protest] let the public see the workers’ desperation and persecution at the hands of the government, but it did not serve as a wake-up call for the government. Tragic things continue to happen and people without means are still being treated unfairly, as can be seen in incidents ranging from the forced demolition of civilians’ houses in Dapu [(大埔), Miaoli County], to the truck driver who rammed his truck through the entrance of Presidential Office Building,” the alliance said on Facebook.
“As the new year begins, we have no other choice but to continue fighting. We will go back to Taipei Railway Station and pray that the protests will proceed smoothly and everyone will eventually live in peace,” it said.
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s (陳奕迅) concerts in Kaohsiung this weekend have been postponed after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 this morning, the organizer said today. Chan’s “FEAR and DREAMS” concert which was scheduled to be held in the coming three days at the Kaohsiung Arena would be rescheduled to May 29, 30 and 31, while the three shows scheduled over the next weekend, from May 23 to 25, would be held as usual, Universal Music said in a statement. Ticket holders can apply for a full refund or attend the postponed concerts with the same seating, the organizer said. Refund arrangements would
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS