Workers’ Day on May 1 should be designated as a national holiday starting from this year, the National Federation of Teachers’ Unions (NFTU) said yesterday.
Making Workers’ Day a national holiday has obtained bipartisan consensus, with legislators from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) proposing different versions of amendments to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), the group said at a news conference in Taipei.
It should be prioritized in this legislative session and passed as soon as possible to solve disputes that have existed for years, it said.
Photo: CNA
Workers’ Day is observed by the private sector, but schools, public service jobs and the military typically do not provide the day off.
TPP Legislator Chen Gau-tzu (陳昭姿) said that her party believes workers, teachers and every citizen should have the right to take a day off, and that right should be guaranteed by law.
DPP Legislator Hsu Chih-chieh (許智傑) said Article 5 of the Central Regulation Standard Act (中央標準法) says that regulations should concern “the rights or obligations of the people,” so the amendment should be addressed as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, KMT Legislator Ko Ju-chun (葛如鈞) urged Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) — who had said he would return the Workers’ Day holiday to teachers so they share equal rights with workers — to keep his promise.
KMT Legislator Wan Mei-ling (萬美玲) also called to designate Teacher’s Day on Sept. 28 as a national holiday to show respect to educators, adding that regulating memorial days and holidays by executive order contravenes the Central Regulation Standard Act.
The government should review the national holiday system to ensure its fairness and the rights of educators and workers, Wan said.
NFTU president Hou Chun-liang (侯俊良) said the dignity of labor should be honored, as making Workers’ Day a national holiday has obtained public consensus.
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