Labor groups protest in front of AmCham Taipei office

勞工團體在美國商會台北辦事處前抗議

Labor group protestors burned copies of American Chamber of Commerce white paper


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- A number of labor groups combined forces on Saturday (June 23) to rally in front of the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei (AmCham) to protest a white paper recently released by the organization which called for still another amendment to the controversial and beleaguered Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法).

A coalition of labor groups gathered on Saturday on Ketagalan Boulevard and drove a convoy of trucks and scooters to the AmCham's office on Minsheng East Road in Taipei to block what they feared would be a third amendment to the labor law, reported CNA. The protestors were angered by its annual white paperpublished on June 6, in which AmCham called on the government to allow more flexible working hours for professionals in order to enable Taiwan to be more competitive.

Chu Chih-te (朱智德), a representative of the Labor Rights Referendum Alliance (勞權公投聯盟) told CNA that the alliance is composed of trade unions, labor groups, social movements, and youth groups to block any attempts at enacting a third amendment to the Labor Standards Act.


Protesters rally in front of AmCham office. (CNA image)

Chu said that the AmCham white paper advocated further amendments to the labor law allow for more flexibility in working hours for professionals and increase the differentiation between blue and white collar workers. Feng Tse-yuan (馮澤源), Chairman of Micron Technology Inc (美光科技) Workers' Union, questioned the involvement of American businesses in Taiwan's labor rights, and called for support from the public in blocking the new amendment and prevent Taiwanese employers from infringing on labor rights.

In response, the Ministry of Labor said that the white paper's call on relaxing restrictions of working hours refers to Article 84-1 of the Labor Standards Act and that it already stipulates specific categories of workers who can arrange for their own working hours. The MOL said that it will handle the matter carefully with the priority placed on ensuring the well-being of workers.

Prior to the protest, AmCham on Friday issued statement saying that it promotes the protection of the welfare of labor while also promoting labor laws that foster an innovative economy. It said that its current suggestion is that the new law would define the working conditions of white-collar workers and professional managers to provide more flexibility in arranging their working hours and location to meet the needs of the new knowledge-based economy.

Labor groups are still reeling from an amendment passed to the Labor Standards Act on Jan. 10 and implemented on Mar. 1 which relaxed the "one fixed day off, one flexible day off" (一例一休) regulations in a concession to business groups. Some of the concessions included allowing employers to have their employees work for up to 12 days in a row, increasing the maximum allowable hours of overtime per month from 46 to 54, reducing break hours between shifts from 11 to 8 hours, and using compensatory leave instead of overtime worked.


Protesters set fire to white paper. (CNA image)