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Working more than 6 days in a row to be illegal

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Working more than 6 days in a row to be illegal

Working more than 6 days in a row to be illegal

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Working more than six days in a row will become illegal beginning in August, the Ministry of Labor announced Wednesday.

The measure was the latest decision in the discussion surrounding working hours for the island’s labor force. A total of 8.5 million employees falling under the Labor Standards Act could benefit from the new measure, reports said.

Employers breaking the new rule could face fines ranging from NT$20,000 (US$619) to NT$300,000 (US$9,280). The MOL decision will end a practice rooted in a 1986 ruling by the Ministry of Interior, which said there should be one day off for each seven working days, but which allowed 12 working days to be pooled, with the free days coming before and after that period.

Recently, an employee of the 7-Eleven convenience store rebelled against a management requirement for him to work eight days in a row, and he made the news by asking a police officer to take his place. The employee accused his employer of violating the Labor Standards Act by making him work so long without any days off.

The Legislative Yuan and the Taipei City Department of Labor Affairs both asked the MOL to abolish the old practice and not to allow employees to be forced to work more than six days without a break. Officials said the removal of the 1986 regulation was part of the package of labor reforms now up for discussion.

Business organizations and labor unions have been at loggerheads over plans for the generalization of the five-day workweek and over allegations that Taiwanese workers have too many days off.