TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Workers took to the streets of Taipei and Kaohsiung on Friday afternoon to demand pension reform for local and migrant workers.
For the first time, Labor Day has been designated as a general holiday, including for teachers and students. Unions and labor organizations marched in front of the Presidential Office Building in Taipei to emphasize their key demands, per CNA.
Labor leaders said the monthly retirement pay system introduced 20 years ago should be more generous and also cover migrant workers and homework service employees. They said the system only helps employers cut costs and fails to provide enough security for retired workers.
As their demands for coverage of migrant workers have drawn criticism from employers’ associations, the union leaders said Taiwan is a country that values human rights. No matter where they came from, migrant workers should be considered as colleagues, and enjoy the same labor rights. Respect for migrant labor would enhance Taiwan’s international image, the union leaders said.
The marchers also demanded that the contribution rate of employers to personal labor pension accounts should rise gradually from 6% to 12% of the employee’s monthly salary.
The activists also want reforms to Taiwan’s old pension system, under which workers who were employed before 2005 receive a lump sum when they retire. The government should remove the maximum limit of 45 months of average monthly wages, the marchers said.
