Labor amendments return for scrutiny

BYPASSEDThe proposed changes do not guarantee workers a five-day workweek, employees can still work overtime on their days off, KMT Legislator Wang said

By Abraham Gerber  /  Staff reporter

A member of staff from the Presidential Office accepts a request addressed to President Tsai Ing-wen from workers’ rights demonstrators yesterday. The request asks Tsai to hold a public hearing on the government’s proposed reduction of national holidays.

Photo: CNA

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A review of amendments to the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) was restarted yesterday, as members of the Legislative Yuan’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee completed a question-and-answer session with government officials regarding the proposed changes.

The amendments are aimed at bolstering earlier reforms by implementing a universal 40-hour workweek, which drew criticism for not guaranteeing additional weekly days off to compensate for the elimination of seven national holidays.

The committee is to attempt to review and consolidate seven different versions of the amendments this week, following a cross-caucus agreement to return the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) official version to the committee after it was controversially sent directly to cross-caucus negotiations last month.

In addition to the DPP caucus’ and the Executive Yuan’s versions, the other legislative caucuses have also proposed their own versions, as have DPP Legislators Lin Shu-fen (林淑芬) and Chung Kung-chao (鍾孔炤).

Whether the measures to institute a weekly “flexible rest day” in addition to an existing “mandatory day off” would guarantee sufficient additional rest time and pay was a key point of contention throughout yesterday’s question-and-answer session, which saw legislators across party lines cross-examine Minister of Labor Kuo Fong-yu (郭芳煜).

“I think that the main difference after the amendments would only be an increase in overtime rates for the ‘flexible rest day,’” DPP Legislator Liu Chien-kuo (劉建國) said, calling for the ministry to release estimates on how much the amendments would do to reduce average working hours.

“There is no way the amendments can guarantee a five-day workweek, because employees can still legally work overtime [on their rest day],” Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Alicia Wang (王育敏) said, adding that rates for working on a “flexible rest day” are the same with regular work day overtime rates.

New Power Party Legislator Hung Tzu-yung (洪慈庸) said it is questionable whether employees would receive overtime pay, given the failure of many employers to follow existing overtime regulations.

Kuo said that new labor inspection personnel, combined with the new “complementary measures,” should be sufficient to effect meaningful change, adding that average monthly working hours have fallen from 175 before previous reforms to 168 in the first half of this year.

A public hearing on the proposed changes is to be held tomorrow, followed by a line-by-line review on Thursday, when the amendments are expected to pass committee review.

“The committee would not necessarily reach a conclusion, in which case we would hold further cross-caucus negotiations or address the matter in a legislative session,” said DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘), who attended yesterday’s committee meeting, reaffirming that the DPP caucus intends to pass amendments by the end of this year.

Foreigners to be included in labor pension system

Staff writer, with CNA

The Cabinet yesterday approved a draft amendment to the Labor Pension Act (勞工退休金條例) to include foreigners who hold permanent residency in the new labor pension system, under which employers are obliged to contribute funds to their employees’ pension accounts.

The change was proposed to establish a “friendly environment” that can help attract foreign professionals to come and work in Taiwan, Premier Lin Chuan (林全) was quoted by Cabinet spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) as saying.

Lin said he would instruct the Ministry of Labor to communicate with lawmakers on the amendment in the hope that it can clear the legislative floor as soon as possible.

Unlike the previous version, under which 2 percent to 15 percent of a worker’s monthly wage is deposited in a pension reserve fund, the system implemented in July 2005 stipulates that an employer must deposit an amount equivalent to at least 6 percent of a worker’s monthly wage into an individual labor pension account in the worker’s name, while the worker can voluntarily contribute a maximum 6 percent to the pension account.

There have been 6.32 million workers who have had funds allocated to their pension accounts, and the allocation rate on the side of employers has reached an almost perfect level of 99.8 percent, said Sun Pi-shia (孫碧霞), a welfare and retirement affairs division chief at the ministry.

With the amendment, foreigners who work in Taiwan and have permanent residency will be able to enjoy a more secure retirement in Taiwan, she said.

As of Sept. 30, there were 12,682 foreigners with permanent residency in Taiwan, Sun said.

The amendment also extends the timeframe for a beneficiary’s collection of the pension after the death of a worker from five years to 10.

Employers who fail to pay pension or severance compensation will also be faced with higher fines, the official added.

After yesterday’s approval, the bill will be delivered to the legislature for deliberation.

TAIPEI TIMES EDITORIAL: What Trump means for Taiwan

EDITORIAL: What Trump means for Taiwan

After US president-elect Donald Trump’s stunning victory at the polls, Taiwan faces the question of what it means for US foreign policy and how Taipei should respond to a post-US President Barack Obama world.

Taiwan has long maintained a relatively close relationship with the US Republican Party due to the party’s anti-communist stance, not to mention that in July, the Republican National Convention included, for the first time, the “six assurances” — given to Taiwan by then-US president Ronald Reagan in 1982 — in its official platform.

However, given the glaring divide between Trump and the Republican Party establishment during his presidential campaign, it is an open question whether Trump will follow the party line on various issues, including foreign policy.

From what he has said about Asia, Trump wishes to punish China, which he has described as a “grand master” of currency manipulation, vowing to impose tariffs of up to 45 percent on Chinese products and initiate unfair trade lawsuits. While this might be an economic blow to China if he follows through on his rhetoric, Trump’s complaint about the US having to defend Japan and South Korea might be music to Beijing’s ears, because it suggests a reversal of Obama’s “pivot to Asia” policy. Democratic US presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton was expected to maintain the pivot if elected, as she was a major architect of the strategic shift during her stint as US secretary of state.

This so-called “rebalancing” has been regarded by Beijing as an attempt to contain Chinese interests, while highlighting Taiwan’s geostrategic value. A withdrawal from Asia as Trump has suggested would accelerate the realigning of some Asian countries with China, with the Philippines and Malaysia having started to warm to Beijing, and potentially marginalize Taiwan. Considering how ASEAN members rely on China for trade, Beijing having more say and sway in the region would undoubtedly undercut President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) “new southbound policy.”

Trump’s opposition to the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership is also likely to hurt Taiwan’s prospects of joining a trade agreement that would help it bypass efforts by Beijing to hinder Taipei’s formation of economic ties with the global community.

Ironically, Trump’s isolationist stance could mean he would be more willing than previous US administrations to sell arms to Taiwan, as a Taiwanese academic said before election day when asked to imagine a Trump presidency.

The weapons Trump might be prepared to sell to Taiwan could include those the US had not considered before, such as stealth fighters, AEGIS-equipped guided missile destroyers or the latest missile defense systems, the academic said.

However, there is also the possibility that “president Trump” will be a different proposition from “presidential candidate Trump,” as he will have to learn how to form an effective team and work with other Republican, if not Democratic, politicians.

The makeup of Trump’s foreign policy team will have to be closely examined, before Taiwan works out measures it needs to prepare itself for the change in US administration. Trump will have to rely on veteran Republican politicians and existing institutions to make significant decisions and formulate effective policies. In that sense, his foreign policy stance, at least in regard to Taiwan, might not be too remote from what is expected of a Republican US administration.

Protesters search for DPP leaders in Taipei eateries

RUMBLINGS OF DISCONTENT:Critics called legislators ‘murderers of holidays,’ while a union member asked how the legislators could eat while ‘workers are fasting’

By Abraham Gerber  /  Staff reporter

Members of the Workers’ Struggle Alliance yesterday went “looking” for Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) leaders in restaurants along a street adjacent to the Legislative Yuan in Taipei as they continued a hunger strike to protest the proposed cut in the number of national holidays.

Members of the consortium of unions and activists marched along Qingdao E Road (青島東路) for almost an hour, peering into restaurants and holding up wanted posters emblazoned with the photographs of several members of the DPP legislative caucus, including Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全), DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘), DPP caucus secretary-general (總幹事) Wu Ping-jui (吳秉叡) and the party’s two Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee conveners, Chen Ying (陳瑩) and Wu Yu-chin (吳玉琴).

“The pictures in our hands are of several legislators who favor cutting the number of national holidays, please help us find them,” alliance member Kuo Kuan-chun (郭冠均) said through a loudhailer. “As our hunger strike enters its third day, we have seen that the DPP is not willing to come and face us.”

“Workers are fasting — does your conscience allow you to eat in peace?” Taiwan Higher Education Union department director Lin Po-yi (林柏儀) said of the legislators, as the protesters shouted their names, calling them “murderers of holidays.”

Seven protesters have been on hunger strike outside the gates of the Legislative Yuan since Friday last week, protesting a proposed amendment to the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) which would cut the number of national holidays from 19 to 12 as part reforms aimed at cutting the workweek.

Protesters pasted wanted posters outside of the legislature’s Qingdao E Road gate and a building housing Chen Ying’s office, handing out the remaining posters to onlookers before returning to their encampment outside the legislature’s main entrance.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators occupied the speaker’s podium last week to block a review of the amendment and senior government officials said that it would not be reviewed today.

DPP eases labor amendment push

MUCH TALK:DPP lawmakers agreed not to railroad the bill during its third reading and to conduct more discussion, but the act is still expected to pass before the end of the year

By Lee Hsin-fang  /  Staff reporter

Members of labor organizations protest outside the legislature in Taipei on Friday, vowing to go on a hunger strike to protest the government’s determination to reduce the number of national holidays.

Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times

In light of labor groups’ protests, including a hunger strike, a controversial amendment to the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) that would see the implementation of workers having“one fixed day and one mandatory rest day off” are unlikely to be passed by the legislature on Tuesday.

The Executive Yuan has been pushing the amendment to standardize the number of days off in all industries and had expected the amendment to be passed on Tuesday.

However, government leaders have postponed the passage of the controversial bill, saying it would spark greater disputes if the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus railroads it through.

An Executive Yuan official yesterday said on condition of anonymity that the bill “does not have to be passed next Tuesday,” but it could be passed “any time before the end of the year.”

The official said the Executive Yuan has expressed goodwill toward labor groups and opposition parties, saying that the government is willing to engage in more discussion.

The government has suggested another provision that would allow workers with fewer service years to take annual leave earlier that they are currently allowed, the official said.

The official said that the Executive Yuan hopes that the legislative caucuses would negotiate over annual leave conditions, which is the point of the amendment.

The legislative speaker’s podium was again occupied by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus on Friday due to the standoff over the amendment.

Labor rights advocates on Friday launched a hunger strike in protest at what they said had amounted to DPP lawmakers ramming the review through a committee meeting last month.

DPP leaders have reached a “tacit agreement” that the bill would not be passed on Tuesday, saying that there would be high hurdles to jump before the third reading of the bill.

The official said the Executive Yuan had expected that the third reading would be held on Tuesday, but on Tuesday last week it said that workers who are entitled to days off on the Oct. 31, Nov. 12 and Dec. 25 national holidays would lose those days off if the bill were accepted and put into effect on Jan. 1.

The official said that while the DPP, with its majority in the legislature, could railroad the bill through, “we do not want the public to believe that the DPP government is one that is opposed to communication.”

That is why the government and top party officials have said that while they would still push to pass the bill as soon as possible, if it is done before the end of the year, that would give them enough time to consult with people of differing opinions and complete the legislative process, the official said.

Union calls on labor ministry to force CAL to keep vow

By Abraham Gerber  /  Staff reporter

The Ministry of Labor should force China Airlines (CAL) to fulfill promises to allow union officials time off for union work, the Taoyuan Flight Attendants’ Union said yesterday at a congress in front of the ministry building in Taipei.

“We want Minister of Labor Kuo Fong-yu (郭芳煜) to see how China Airlines overturned one article after another of the agreement reached on June 24 at a meeting he himself hosted within the ministry,” union president Chao Kang (趙剛) said, facing 29 union officials and member representatives as he opened the congress in light drizzle in the ministry’s outer courtyard.

A bare quorum of the congress’ 53 members attended the meeting after China Airlines reportedly refused to give employees time off to attend the event.

Time off to participate in official union meetings was reportedly one of the items in the agreement China Airlines reached to end a strike.

The union said that CAL had agreed to most of its terms, but since then has sought to evade acting on its promises, chipping away at the agreement with decisions such as granting benefits to members of a different company union that did not participate in the strike.

The Taoyuan Flight Attendants’ Union was founded by members of a flight attendants’ branch of the main union after a difference of opinion over strategy, with the new union adopting a more confrontational tack in dealing with management.

“The company is choosing to use all sorts of means to obstruct us,” Chao said.

“Time off for official union responsibilities is extremely important, because we work in shifts and there are many union officials and representatives,” he said.

“Because flight schedules are different for everyone, we cannot just meet on a Saturday or Sunday,” Chao said.

“Taking time off is crucial to ensure everyone can participate,” he added.

Protesters go on hunger strike over holiday cuts

By Abraham Gerber  /  Staff reporter

Members of a labor organization who are on a hunger strike to protest against proposed changes to the Labor Standards Act yesterday hold a news conference outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.

Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times

Workers’ rights advocates yesterday began nightly “patrols” around the Legislative Yuan in Taipei and launched a hunger strike to protest against proposed cuts to national holidays.

“Reject holiday cuts,” shouted about 20 protesters affiliated with the Workers’ Struggle Alliance as they circled the streets around the barricaded legislative compound surrounded by newly erected sets of sidewalk barriers alongside its boundary walls.

A line of police officers snaked through the barriers to follow the protesters as they circled the compound.

The protesters walked slowly, stopping briefly outside one of the compound’s gates, directly facing rows of police officers for several minutes before resuming their course.

“We can charge when there are fewer police officers,” said Wang Chuan-ping (王娟萍), deputy chairwoman of the Labor Party.

Seven fasting protesters who had camped out in front of the Legislative Yuan gates led the march.

Earlier in the day, they donned headbands to symbolize the beginning of their fast, using candles to set alight a flag emblazoned with a symbol connected with President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) electoral slogan to “light up Taiwan,” accusing the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of betraying its progressive ideals.

“Every time changes to the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) are proposed, we get our hopes up, but revisions just served to make it more rotten every time,” Taipei City Confederation of Trade Unions chairwoman Cheng Ya-hui (鄭雅慧) said, adding that legal loopholes would keep many workers from working fewer hours even as they lose the national holidays.

The legislature is expected to amend the act following the expiration of a waiting period imposed by cross-caucus negotiations.

The amendments, if passed, would scrap seven national holidays as part of broader reforms aimed at reducing work hours.

Taiwan Higher Education Union organization department director Lin Po-yi (林柏儀) called for the amendments to be returned to the legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee, and criticized a statement by DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘), in which he promised to hold legislative hearings on the amendments before a final vote.

“This is just a ploy, because our demand is that the amendments be returned to the committee,” he said. “The hearings he is promising would only be a formality, unlike a binding hearing held by the committee.”

Hearings should include labor representatives, Alliance member Kuo Kuan-chun (郭冠均) said.

The committee sent the amendments directly to cross-caucus negotiations.

The protesters pledged to continue the hunger strike and the daily patrol, as well as holding rallies every other day until the amendments are returned to the committee.