Proposed amendments to the Labor Standards Act will provide stricter regulations governing the employment of dispatched workers, the Council of Labor Affairs announced July 12.
The proposals include capping the number of dispatched workers from manpower agencies in one company at 3 percent of its total workforce. This figure could be raised to 5 percent upon agreement between management and labor, and as high as 20 percent when a majority of employees are union members and the union approves.
The revisions also prohibit the hiring of dispatched workers in six major fields: health care, security, aviation, maritime transportation, public transportation and mining.
CLA officials said the proposed changes have been six months in the making. Meetings will be held with relevant government agencies to review the amendments, and the opinions of business and labor groups will be solicited. The revisions must be approved by the Executive Yuan before being sent to the Legislature.
When details of the proposed amendments were leaked earlier, labor groups took to the streets protesting the high 20-percent cap on dispatched workers, as well as the failure to ban their hiring in the manufacturing sector. The Industrial Development Bureau under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, on the other hand, wanted the regulations to be less restrictive for employers.
Hiring dispatched workers through employment agencies has become a popular way for businesses to reduce labor costs.
The council’s proposals came after hiring agencies were found to violate labor rules in deploying their dispatched workers. For example, they may secure a government-outsourced job with a low bid before contracting workers, whom they then dismiss once the commission is completed and the labor service is no longer needed.
If the proposals are written into law, employment agencies will be required to give contract workers regular employee status in accordance with the labor law. A one-year grace period is provided to allow manpower agencies to adjust their employment practices.
The proposed amendments also prohibit companies from using dispatched workers as scabs to replace regular employees legally on strike. (PCT-THN)