TAIPEI, May 1 — A Labor Day rally was staged on Friday in Taipei, urging the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities to pay greater attention to labor rights and improve workers’ pay and working conditions.
More than 300 union representatives and members of the public joined the demonstration organized by Taiwan’s Labor Party and the Labor Rights Association on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the island’s leadership office in Taipei.
The rally, themed around reforming labor insurance and pension systems, called for higher employer contribution rates to labor insurance programs and mandatory labor insurance coverage for employees at businesses with fewer than five workers.
In a previously released statement, the Labor Party criticized the DPP authorities’ economic development model centered on the semiconductor and optoelectronics industries, saying it had widened the wealth gap and failed to improve the living standards of ordinary workers despite rising per capita GDP.
Addressing the rally, Wang Wu-lang, secretary-general of the Labor Party, urged the authorities to stop neglecting labor issues and improve labor insurance and pension systems.
He also called for the resumption of cross-Strait dialogue to ensure the benefits of peace are shared by the public.
Hsu Meng-hsiang, deputy secretary-general of the party, said Taiwan is facing mounting social challenges, including an aging population, low birth rates and uneven distribution of economic gains.
He criticized the DPP authorities for prioritizing military expenditure over spending on education, social insurance and welfare programs.
Some representatives from the Labor Party and the Labor Rights Association delivered speeches from campaign vehicles to appeal for broader public attention.
Other participants at the rally, including research fellows and primary-level representatives, also expressed concerns over workers’ pay and social protections, urging the DPP authorities to improve workplace conditions and labor welfare.(Namibia Daily News/Xinhua)
