Taiwan Today

The Council of Labor Affairs is considering making changes to its typhoon policy guidelines. It is mulling whether in the future in the event that a “typhoon vacation” has been declared for a certain region, workers in the region can have the day off; and if they can have the day off, whether they will receive regular pay. . The CLA said that as of now it is inclined to require employers not to withhold wages for workers who take their mandated “typhoon leave;” and if workers are still required to be on duty during such times, they should be given extra pay. The policies have not been finalized, however. The CLA said it will try to announce its new guidelines before the start of this year’s typhoon season. According to current regulations, if a local government announces a day off because of typhoon, the announcement applies only to members of government agencies and schools. Whether a worker working with a private firm is allowed to take “typhoon leave” depends on employment contracts signed between labor and management. If a worker cannot show up for work because of a natural disaster, he must be able to prove this to be eligible for the day off. And even if employers give workers the day off, they are not required to pay them their regular wages. Labor groups have been petitioning the CLA since last year, demanding that when it comes to typhoon leaves laborers should be given the same treatment as civil servants. As a result, the CLA is drafting new guidelines on this matter. But CLA Deputy Minister Kuo Fang-yu admitted that its guidelines would be without legal force. The ministry, therefore, could “only encourage” employers to follow its policy guidelines. The draft states that a worker can take a typhoon day off as long as the local government of his workplace, residence or the area through which he or she commutes have announced a typhoon day off. In such cases, the employer shall not regard not showing up for work as absenteeism, leave of absence for personal reasons or any other kind of leave. The employer may not force the employee to make up for the absence, withhold attendance bonuses or resort to dismissal. In other words, if a worker lives in Taoyuan County and commutes to Taipei City for work, he or she does not have to go to work as long as Taipei County, Taipei City or Taoyuan County announces a typhoon day off. As to how workers taking typhoon leaves will be paid, Kuo said there are three proposals on the table. These are being fiercely debated between representatives of labor and management, and a final arbitration between the three will have to be made by CLA Minister Wang Ju-hsuan. Hsieh Chuang-chih, secretary general of the Taiwan Confederation of Trade Unions, said that even with the guidelines, employers may still try to find loopholes in the new policy, and require laborers to show up for work during typhoon leaves. Moreover, he said, the guidelines are being made without legal basis, and thus no fines could be given to employers that violate the guidelines. Hsieh believed that the Labor Standards Act should be amended to solve the problem. (PCT-HZW)