TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Scuffles broke out Tuesday as labor groups laid siege to the Council of Labor Affairs in a protest against unpaid leave, a growing practice amid the worsening economic crisis. The protesters said employers were abusing the system by forcing wages below the official monthly minimum of NT$17,280.
Almost a thousand activists pushed and shoved with police wielding batons as CLA chairwoman Jennifer Wang failed to appear to hear their grievances.
The labor groups say companies should be fined for the unilateral imposition of unpaid leave. If there is an agreement on unpaid leave, the monthly salary should not fall below the minimum wage, and the new wage should not affect unemployment and pension benefits, the protesters said.
The labor groups also want unpaid leave to be restricted to businesses which have been losing money for a considerable period of time. According to media reports, the practice of unpaid leave has been gaining ground over the past few months, even at prominent enterprises in Taiwan’s advanced high-tech sector.
The protests came the day after the government announced the number of unemployed had crossed the 500,000-mark, with the official jobless rate reaching 4.64 percent for November.
About 741,000 employees worked fewer than 35 hours per week, the government said.
The opposition Democratic Progressive Party predicted worse to come. The number of unemployed will reach 700,000 and then 1 million, DPP lawmaker Lee Chun-yee told reporters.
Several legislators berated the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou for putting too much faith in opening transportation and trading links with China, or in the plan to issue every Taiwanese with NT$3,600 worth of vouchers to boost domestic consumption.
Both the DPP and labor groups also want the government to cut back the use of foreign labor as the domestic job situation deteriorates.