[3165] PCT chairs forum to scrutinize government labor and economic policies and urges Christians to actively evaluate public policies

PCT chairs forum to scrutinize government labor and economic policies and urges Christians to actively evaluate public policies

Reported by Chen Yi-hsuan

Written by Lydia Ma

The PCT General Assembly held a last-minute forum at its office in Kaohsiung on October 16, 2012 to formulate a response to the Ma administration’s recent economic policies. The PCT said that though the government likes to tout its efforts to save the economy, a look at recent policies show otherwise. Recent controversial policies such as extending work hours, freezing minimum wages, and having separate minimum wages for domestic and foreign workers are harmful to the national economy.

The PCT invited representatives from the Kaohsiung City Confederation of Trade Union, the Labor Affairs Bureau of the Kaohsiung City Government, and PCT Labor Concern Center to this forum to draw on their collective wisdom and come up with possible solutions. PCT Church and Society Committee Secretary Huang Che-yen urged all local churches and pastors to be concerned with people’s “right to life”. He added that Christians should scrutinize all government policies instead of adopting a laisser-faire attitude.

Kaohsiung City Confederation of Trade Union’s Associate General Secretary Chen Wan-e said that the government had been mulling about adjusting the minimum wage since last year, but a recent bill proposing a slight increase was rejected by the Executive Yuan. When the news broke, labor organizations were up in arms because they felt it was the last straw on top of other bad policies on the table such as differing minimum wages for domestic and foreign workers and different working hour regulations for those working in the service sector. Chen said that these policies would affect workers in their 20s and 30s the most.

Guo Geng-hua, a supervisor from Kaohsiung Labor Affairs Bureau, said that the shortage of workers in Taiwan’s labor force is a prevailing problem. However, he underscored that the real source of the problem is not the scarcity of workers, but rather insufferable working conditions repelling domestic workers from taking on certain jobs.

Responding to the possibility of creating differing minimum wages, he underscored that international human rights treaties have stipulated that governments may not discriminate foreign workers. In view that many foreign workers in Taiwan are employed to do tasks that Taiwanese workers find too repulsive, worsening working conditions and a quota on foreign workers may pose security risks for society.

Speaking from a pastor’s standpoint, PCT Church and Society Committee Chairman Rev. Lin Wei-lien said: “Because God created human beings, we all have a right to life.” He underscored that the government has been given power and authority for the purpose of ensuring public welfare, increasing people’s income, and monitoring the price of commodities. However, in Taiwan, low birth rates, increasing number of people needing economic relief, and increasing number of people needing to take on part-time jobs or work over-time to survive indicate that people’s basic needs are not being met in the current system.

PCT Labor Concern Center Director Chien Chang-jung spoke on the need to balance work and rest. He said that if it is absolutely necessary to extend work hours, employers should include adequate breaks in between work hours. However, Chen Wan-e replied that she was concerned by the downfalls of extending work hours as the new national norm.

Chen explained her concerns by using daycare centers as illustration. She said that many daycare centers and kindergartens have extended their hours of operation to serve their clients better because many parents cannot pick-up their children on time due to working overtime. As result, daycare teachers are getting off from work later than ever before. She wondered if extending work hours for some people would lead to a vicious cycle that would affect everyone.

Chen further pointed out that there are many young adults working in industrial parks or as professional caregivers whose demanding and long work schedules are preventing them from dating or starting a family. For these reasons, she hoped that the government would immediately put restrictions on the amount of overtime hours and help the nation return to a normal 8-hour workday so that other things can return to normal as well and Taiwan can be more like other developed countries.