Workers and their supporters yesterday took to the streets of Taipei to mark International Workers’ Day with demands for the government to offer better labor welfare.
While passing Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) headquarters in Taipei, the protesters tore hand-held signs that resembled election ballots, protesting the government’s “failed” labor policies.
Event organizer May 1 Action Alliance yesterday said about 5,000 people took part in the rally.
Photo: CNA
The alliance demanded that the government address the failures of its two touted labor amendments, which were to address low wages and labor pension reforms, and protested the exploitation of medical personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The protesters demanded that the government reinstitute seven national holidays that were rescinded in a 2016 labor reform.
The reform sparked protests from workers and labor groups at the time, as workers would not be eligible for additional pay if scheduled to work on those days, amounting to a pay cut.
Photo: CNA
Alliance leader and Taiwan Confederation of Trade Unions president Chiang Chien-hsing (江健興) said that average wages for workers were decreasing each year due to employers being “unwilling to share the fruits of success” with those who made profits possible.
Despite increases to the minimum wage for seven years in a row, the rate pales in comparison the rise of commodity prices, Chiang said.
Taiwan ranks fifth on the international scale of working hours, and the government should endeavor to lower working hours and increase wages, he said, adding that long hours and low wages are part of the reason Taiwanese are becoming more reluctant to have children.
Chiang said the government must draft legislation to ensure that the labor insurance fund remains healthy.
The government must also lower thresholds for union formation to help protect labor rights, he added.
The Ministry of Labor yesterday said in response that the 47 percent rise in the minimum wage over seven years — from NT$120 (US$3.90) in 2016 to NT$176 this year — demonstrates the government’s commitment to protecting labor rights.
As of 2021, the average hours worked in Taiwan stood at 41.6 hours, compared with 43.9 hours in South Korea and 42.5 hours in Japan, the ministry said.
However, the government is continuing to make efforts to better help workers balance their jobs and family needs through policy adjustments, it added.
The NT$16 billion it is scheduled to invest over the next four years should help 800,000 young people secure jobs, it said, adding that amendments to the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) are planned to provide better working conditions and quality of life.
Separately, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) marked International Workers’ Day by thanking essential workers for safeguarding the people of Taiwan throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tsai on social media recognized the efforts of workers from across society for collectively maintaining economic and social stability over what she described as a challenging three years.
Tsai said that it is imperative for the government to now provide more consideration and care for workers, particularly given an adverse outlook for the global economy in the year ahead.
The government since 2016 has been making concerted efforts to slash workers’ economic burdens with measures to increase the minimum wage, cut taxes and implement diverse social welfare programs, Tsai said.
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
TAKE BREAKS: A woman developed cystitis by refusing to get up to use the bathroom while playing mahjong for fear of disturbing her winning streak, a doctor said People should stand up and move around often while traveling or playing mahjong during the Lunar New Year holiday, as prolonged sitting can lead to cystitis or hemorrhoids, doctors said. Yuan’s General Hospital urologist Lee Tsung-hsi (李宗熹) said that he treated a 63-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙) who had been sitting motionless and holding off going to the bathroom, increasing her risk of bladder infection. Chao would drink beverages and not urinate for several hours while playing mahjong with friends and family, especially when she was on a winning streak, afraid that using the bathroom would ruin her luck, he said. She had
MUST REMAIN FREE: A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would lead to a global conflict, and if the nation blows up, the world’s factories would fall in a week, a minister said Taiwan is like Prague in 1938 facing Adolf Hitler; only if Taiwan remains free and democratic would the world be safe, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. The ministry on Saturday said Corriere della Sera is one of Italy’s oldest and most read newspapers, frequently covers European economic and political issues, and that Wu agreed to an interview with the paper’s senior political analyst Massimo Franco in Taipei on Jan. 3. The interview was published on Jan. 26 with the title “Taiwan like Prague in 1938 with Hitler,” the ministry
RSS