PROGRESSIVE:The ministry said that it did not include increases to annual leave in its initial proposal because tackling everything at once could be counterproductive
Taipei Times0
Date: Dec 01, 2016
By: Abraham Gerber / Staff reporter
The Ministry of Labor will not propose separate legislation to increase annual holidays as negotiations
Members of Labor Struggle, a coalition of unions and student groups, yesterday protest outside Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Ying’s office in New Taipei City against a proposed amendment to cancel seven public holidays. Photo: Lai Hsiao-tung, Taipei Times
over amendments to the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) enter the final stretch, Minister of Labor Kuo Fong-yu (郭芳煜) said yesterday, while a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) proposal drew fire from opposition caucuses, who said it failed to specify increases.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has proposed annual leave increases for new workers to placate concerns over planned cuts to national holidays as part of reforms aimed at reducing regular working hours.
“This is not the time to propose another version, because cross-caucus negotiations have already begun and legislative caucuses are now the main actors,” Kuo said.
The ministry did not make a mistake by not proposing increases to annual leave in its original bill, because the issue emerged as part of the legislative review process, he said. [FULL STORY]
