Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Lai Hsiang-ling (賴香伶) yesterday called Taiwan’s low wages “a national disgrace,” and demanded that the government improve working conditions and raise the minimum wage.
Lai was speaking at a news conference at the TPP caucus office at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, which was also attended by representatives of the Taipei Art Creators’ Union and Taipei Confederation of Trade Unions.
Taiwan’s labor conditions fall short with regard to labor insurance, protection for atypical workers, the minimum wage, the health of labor unions and peace of mind for workers, Lai said.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
The country’s unemployment rate rose to 4 percent after the COVID-19 outbreak last year, causing much hardship, she said.
When the country’s industries complained about the so-called “five resource shortfalls” of land, water, electricity, talent and labor, the government set up a special office to address their needs, she said, adding that workers deserve the same treatment.
The government has to shore up the labor insurance fund before it becomes insolvent, which critics have said could occur in 2026, she said.
The injection of NT$22 billion (US$788.4 million) is not adequate, because the fund’s fiscal woes are worsening due to an aging tax base, she said.
The TPP caucus has proposed that workers be given 14 days of paid leave for child and elderly care per year to ease the burden on working families, which the government should support, Lai said.
The Ministry of Labor should introduce a minimum wage bill as soon as possible, as President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) ran for office on a platform that supported increasing the wages of Taiwanese workers, she added.
The country’s laws do not sufficiently protect creative industry workers from overwork, intellectual property theft or exploitation, Taipei Art Creators’ Union vice president Tu Pei-shih (杜珮詩) said.
Citing a study by her union, Tu said that 48 percent of creators make less than NT$30,000 per month, less than 50 percent of them are enrolled in the labor insurance program and only 27 percent work under a formalized written contract.
TPP Legislator Kao Hung-an (高虹安) said that the party caucus has proposed amendments to the Culture and Arts Reward Act (文化藝術獎助條例), which would bolster the rights of creative industry workers and expand their participation in labor insurance.
Unreasonable regulations are to blame for Taiwan’s low unionization rate, which has remained at 7.6 percent for many years, Confederation of Taipei Trade Unions president Chiu I-kan (邱奕淦) said.
Thirty workers are needed to organize a legally recognized union in Taiwan, which is a more demanding standard than the two workers required in South Korea, seven in Hong Kong and 25 in China, he said, adding that the membership threshold should be lowered.
Other restrictions on the unionization of contract workers and a lack of collective bargaining rights have also severely hindered the growth of industrial unions, he added.
Additional reporting by CNA
A decision to describe a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Singapore’s Taiwan policy as “erroneous” was made because the city-state has its own “one China policy” and has not followed Beijing’s “one China principle,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said yesterday. It has been a longstanding practice for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to speak on other countries’ behalf concerning Taiwan, Tien said. The latest example was a statement issued by the PRC after a meeting between Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the APEC summit
Taiwan’s passport ranked 34th in the world, with access to 141 visa-free destinations, according to the latest update to the Henley Passport Index released today. The index put together by Henley & Partners ranks 199 passports globally based on the number of destinations holders can access without a visa out of 227, and is updated monthly. The 141 visa-free destinations for Taiwanese passport holders are a slight decrease from last year, when holders had access to 145 destinations. Botswana and Columbia are among the countries that have recently ended visa-free status for Taiwanese after “bowing to pressure from the Chinese government,” the Ministry
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
Minister of Labor Ho Pei-shan (何佩珊) yesterday apologized after the suicide of a civil servant earlier this month and announced that a supervisor accused of workplace bullying would be demoted. On Nov. 4, a 39-year-old information analyst at the Workforce Development Agency’s (WDA) northern branch, which covers greater Taipei and Keelung, as well as Yilan, Lienchiang and Kinmen counties, was found dead in their office. WDA northern branch director Hsieh Yi-jung (謝宜容), who has been accused of involvement in workplace bullying, would be demoted to a nonsupervisory position, Ho told a news conference in Taipei. WDA Director-General Tsai Meng-liang (蔡孟良) said he would
RSS