Number of workers on unpaid leave continues to drop

Staff writer, with CNA

The number of workers on unpaid leave in the second half of last month fell from the first half of the month, according to statistics released yesterday by the Ministry of Labor.

As of Saturday, the number of workers who had agreed to go on furlough was 529, down from 556 in the first two weeks of the month, the ministry said.

In addition, the number of employers implementing unpaid leave also fell in the second half of last month, dropping from 24 in the first two weeks to 21, the data showed.

From Dec. 16 to Saturday, four employers terminated their unpaid leave programs, the ministry said.

However, one employer started such a scheme, the ministry added.

Most of the companies that had employees on unpaid leave were small enterprises with a workforce of fewer than 50, it said.

The companies, mostly in the metal and electromechanical industries, were asking their workers to take one to four days of unpaid leave per month for a period of up to three months, it added.

The decline in the number of furloughed workers last month reflected the gradual recovery of the domestic economy.

In November last year, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics forecast that the economy would grow 1.87 percent this year compared with a 1.35 percent growth estimate for last year on the back of rising global demand, which has boosted the nation’s export-oriented economy.

Meanwhile, the government has implemented a NT$20 billion (US$620.25 million) program to reduce the financial impact on furloughed workers, offering them training to upgrade their skills.

Under the program, the trainees receive a stipend of NT$100 per hour to help meet their living expenses, up to a maximum of NT$12,000 per month.

Employees also have the option of taking online training courses that are available on the Web site of the ministry’s Skill Evaluation Center.