Taiwan Labor Agency Defends Policy as Protecting Workers' Rights

TAIPEI, May 16 Asia Pulse - The Cabinet-level Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) has defended its labor policy during the eight years of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) rule, providing a wide array of concrete data and reports as proof of its efforts and achievements in labor rights protection.

The move came after representatives of more than 10 labor groups rallied in front of the CLA building Wednesday to protest against the outgoing DPP government's labor policy, which they claimed has resulted in deteriorating working conditions.

A council spokesman said Thursday that over the past eight years, the council has made additions and amendments to a number of labor related laws and regulations, including the formulation of provisions to the Occupational Accident Labor Protection Act in 2001, the Gender Equality Employment Law in 2002, the Employment Insurance Law in 2002, the Protective Act for Mass Redundancy of Employees in 2003, the Labor Pension Act in 2004, and the Organizational rules of the Labor Pension Fund Supervisory Committee in 2007.

In addition, the council said it has completed revisions to the Labor Standards Law, the Labor Insurance Law, the Employment Insurance Law Act, the Collective Agreement Law and the Gender Equality Employment Law.

To help curb the country's rising unemployment rate, the CLA implemented the Employment Insurance Law in 2002 under which the unemployed are allowed to claim benefits for a maximum of six months, while receiving vocational training and accessing other employment services, according to the spokesman.

The CLA has also worked to strengthen employment services for job seekers, especially for mothers, by setting up more service centers and launching other employment promotion measures, the spokesman said.

"As a result, the unemployment rate has significantly dropped," according to spokesman, who noted that the labor force participation rate of women has grown to 49.38 percent, and that the council has helped a total of 901,831 socially disadvantaged people to land jobs.

To guarantee workers' safety and rights, the council has six times expanded the applicable scope of the Labor Standards Law and has enacted law amendments to prevent gender and age discrimination, the spokesman said.

The CLA has also pushed forward a nationwide program aimed at reducing the number of vocational work accidents, the spokesman said, adding that since the launch of the program, the death rate per 1,000 people in such accidents has slipped from 0.77 in 2000 to 0.34 in 2008, representing a sharp drop of 55.8 percent.

Moreover, the spokesman also touted the implementation of the New Labor Pension System in 2005, which he said would provide extra financial security for workers after retirement.

Under the system, the employer contributes 6 percent or more of a worker's monthly wage to an individual pension account owned by the worker and overseen by the Bureau of Labor Insurance. Upon reaching 60 years of age, a worker may apply directly to the bureau to receive the principal and dividends that may have accumulated over the years. Currently, a total of 6,439,000 workers have such an account.

(CNA)

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