Labor Groups Demand Updates to 40-Year-Old Employment Law
It's been 40 years since Taiwan adopted its current labor law, and labor groups say it's time for it to be updated with greater protections for workers, as well as higher overtime and the restoration of former holidays.
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00:00Give me a seven-day leave to increase my pension.
00:06Workers in Taiwan have now enjoyed 40 years of protection under the Labor Standards Act,
00:11but labor activists say it's time the law got an update.
00:14They've drawn up a list of improvements they want to see.
00:17One of the most pressing of these is about the current system for overtime pay.
00:21Over the past 40 years, the rate of overtime pay has not increased.
00:24It has doubled from one-third to two-thirds in the first two hours,
00:28and then doubled to three-thirds in the second two hours.
00:31Activists also want seven former public holidays to be reinstated.
00:35Increasing national holidays not only increases the opportunity for workers to rest and spend time with their families,
00:42but also allows cheap design to drive Taiwan's tourism business.
00:50There are also calls for higher pensions and greater protections, including for migrant workers.
00:55These include a demand that employers who owe workers more than a certain amount in wages
00:59should be barred from leaving the country.
01:02Business groups say at least some of these demands are impractical.
01:05If the rate of overtime pay is doubled,
01:08I don't know if many industries will accept it.
01:14Some industries haven't even doubled,
01:17and there are still many industries that can't survive.
01:21And the government is striking a cautious tone on any legal reforms.
01:25The Ministry of Labour continues to collect opinions on all kinds of reforms.
01:32We need to have consensus on all kinds of opinions
01:36in order to make adjustments.
01:40But labour activists say they're determined to get what they want,
01:43and they're preparing to go to politicians from all party backgrounds
01:46to make sure their demands are heard.
01:49Luffy Lee and John Van Triest for Taiwan Plus.