Premier Lin Chuan attended a ceremony today in the run-up to Labor Day, awarding commendations to 51 model laborers and emphasizing that the government is dedicated to protecting labor rights by implementing a five-day workweek, and ensuring occupational safety, reasonable working hours and a basic quality of life for retired laborers.
The nation should appreciate the importance of labor's contributions, the premier said. Citing Germany as an example, he said that in the 19th century Germans developed a state capital system and state industries. They also upgraded labor capabilities, protected occupational safety, improved laborers' overall health and provided appropriate educational opportunities to enhance the overall quality of the labor force. These measures fueled Germany's rapid rise as a European power.
To promote social development, government labor policy must advocate certain principles so that labor and management can have a mutually beneficial relationship, principles that promote mutually beneficial growth based on harmony. That means not only facilitating opportunities for labor and management to negotiate on an equal footing, but also setting basic standards, and ensuring reasonable working conditions for labor.
Turning to the five-day workweek issue, the premier said that a policy that sets aside two days of rest each week acknowledges the fundamental value of labor. While promoting this policy, the government has set reasonable overtime rates for rest days to give enterprises a chance to gradually adapt, hoping to encourage them to gradually adopt a five-day workweek. For special industries where a five-day workweek is untenable, other methods can be employed to give laborers adequate rest.
In keeping with labor's fundamental value to society, the government enacted the Labor Standards Act to ensure reasonable working conditions for laborers, and is working to create a mutually beneficial labor-management negotiation mechanism. Based on that principle of mutual benefit, the government hopes to gradually promote national labor policies to improve labor conditions and overall social conditions, and spur enterprise and economic development.
In a changing society, labor education and training are important tools for helping workers keep up with the times, the premier said. This is particularly true as industries shift toward smart technologies, which means people in the future will be working closely with robot controls and information technology. The government must help workers to embrace the latest industrial development trends and the job opportunities that come with industrial transformation. The premier hopes the Ministry of Labor will watch these developments closely and help workers learn a second trade.
On the issue of occupational safety, the premier said every workplace injury has the potential to affect entire families, so companies must abide by the nation's laws to ensure the safety of their employees. If current laws are insufficient or overly restrictive, the government will make every effort to make improvements and put basic safety protections in place for all workers
The government will also set reasonable working hour standards to keep workers safe and improve their quality of life, the premier pledged. There should be guidelines for life outside of work for airplane pilots, tour bus drivers and others who operate dangerous machinery, allowing them to maintain good work/rest schedules so they can be alert and stay safe on the job.
For people who have worked hard their entire lives, it is the responsibility of an advanced nation to provide financial guarantees for their retirement. The nation's pension system is currently facing a financial crisis that must be addressed, the premier pointed out. Many companies in the past have not contributed enough to employee pension funds, and so the administration has been pressing companies to make sure their pension reserves can support their employee retirement needs. The Executive Yuan will also inject an additional NT$20 billion (US$652.3 million) each year to the original amount required to sustain the Labor Insurance Fund. The premier hopes employees and employers will join forces with the government to reform the Labor Insurance Fund.