Taipei, April 21 (CNA) Labor rights groups will make seven demands, including to call for a four-day work week and add public holidays, when they gather for a Labor Day march on May 1 in Taipei, the groups said Monday.
The Labor Day 51 Alliance, composed of dozens of Taiwanese labor unions and NGOs, said the march will begin on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office and head down Zhongxiao West Road and Zhongshan South Road before returning to the boulevard.
The alliance said it will present seven demands to the government during the march — which is expected to draw up to 5,000 people — one of which will focus on reducing the amount of time people in Taiwan work.
The alliance said it will call for the Labor Standards Act to be revised to provide more special leave days for employees and gradually get the law changed to allow workers to have three days off a week.
It will also push for designating Labor Day as a national holiday, according to Tai Kuo-jung (戴國榮), president of the Taiwan Confederation of Trade Unions and chief organizer of the rally.
Another of the alliance’s hopes is to eliminate workplace bullying, Tai said.
It will propose that provisions in the Occupational Safety and Health Act on protecting employees against bullying at work should be applied to both civil servants and workers, he said.
The alliance will also suggest that workplace bullying cases be jointly handled by an impartial third party and labor representatives, and that employers should be prohibited form improperly punishing employees who file complaints and victims.
Another of the alliance’s demands will be to raise employers’ monthly mandatory contribution of no less than 6 percent of their employed workers’ monthly wages to their labor pension accounts under the new labor pension scheme, Tai said.
It will also push for removing the 45-month cap on lump sum pension payment calculations under the old system, Tai said.
Wages will be another of the demands, Tai said. The group will ask for an increase in the minimum monthly salary from NT$28,590 (US$885) to NT$32,000 and for an adjustment in the hourly minimum wage from NT$190 to NT$210 in response to soaring inflation.
The alliance will also advocate for better labor rights protection through more effective negotiations between employees and employers and reduce the threshold for organizing labor unions.
Moreover, it will highlight the importance of taking into account the employment rights of workers in high-emission industries when these industries engage in low-carbon transitions, Tai said.
The alliance will also call for addressing staff shortages in sectors like healthcare and nursing, education, and child care, according to Tai.
