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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 KMT demands Hsu apology over labor act statement
Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT） Legislator Alicia Wang, left, condemns the Democratic Progressive Party’s version of the amendment to the Labor Standards Act at a news conference at the legislature in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNA
‘BLATANTLY LYING’: Hsu Kuo-yung said that an article that offers workers the option to choose compensatory leave in lieu of overtime pay was proposed by a KMT legislator
By Sean Lin / Staff reporter
The Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT） caucus yesterday condemned the Democratic Progressive Party （DPP） for saying that Article 32-1 of the Labor Standards Act （勞動基準法） was passed according to a motion filed by KMT Legislator Chiang Wan-an （蔣萬安）, demanding that Executive Yuan spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung （徐國勇）, who made the statement, apologize to the public.
Hsu on Thursday told a news conference that the article that offers workers the option to choose compensatory leave in lieu of overtime pay would not affect working conditions.
KMT caucus deputy secretary-general Lee Yen-hsiu （李彥秀） yesterday said Hsu was “blatantly lying.”
Chiang in February last year filed a motion seeking to allow workers to convert overtime pay into compensatory leave, but his motion was voted down by the DPP caucus on Tuesday at a plenary session held to review proposed amendments to the act.
The DPP then proposed its own motion, which despite also containing the option, could not be more different from Chiang’s version, the KMT legislator said as he compared the two motions.
Chiang’s version proposed that the compensatory leave workers received for overtime be proportionate to the overtime pay they would otherwise have received, which under the act ranges from 1.33 to 2.66 times their usual rate, depending on whether the overtime is on a weekday or their weekly “flexible rest day.”
Workers who agree to convert overtime pay into compensatory leave must be allowed to use it by the end of the year or before their contract expires, or employers would be required to convert the leave back into overtime pay, Chiang’s motion said.
The DPP’s motion, which is to take effect on March 1, states that one hour of overtime should be compensated by one hour of compensatory leave, with the time frame in which workers are allowed to go on compensatory leave to be decided together by employers and employees.
The DPP’s motion states that employers only need to convert compensatory leave back to overtime pay after an agreed period of time or at the end of the worker’s contract.
The DPP’s version of Article 32-1 is harmful to workers, as it could see their compensatory leave indefinitely postponed by their employer, Chiang said.
Chiang criticized Hsu for saying that the motion was proposed by him and was passed after gaining nonpartisan support from lawmakers.
All KMT legislators who attended the plenary session voted against it, he said.
“The reason Hsu stated the opposite of the truth was that employers did not approve of my version, which is an inconvenient truth for the DPP,” Chiang said.
The DPP should stop mudslinging and assume responsibility for its actions, he said.
KMT Legislator Alicia Wang （王育敏） demanded that Hsu apologize to Chiang and workers nationwide for making a false statement.
President Tsai Ing-wen （蔡英文）, who on Wednesday apologized for the turmoil caused by the DPP amending the act twice in a year, should not just apologize to the DPP Central Standing Committee, but to all workers as she has failed to uphold the promises she made during her election campaign about improving workers’ rights, she added.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
