Labor movement in Taiwan

The labor movement in Taiwan did not start until the 1980s after the end of martial law in Taiwan. Many of these labor movements began when Kuomintang became more lenient with social movements. In addition, with the help of non-KMT political figures, such as members of the Democratic Progressive Party, many labor unions and State-owned enterprise administrations removed KMT's influence, and this reshaped a huge economic sector of Taiwan from being strictly controlled by the state.

History

Prior to martial law

Prior to the end of martial law, the Kuomintang prohibited the formation of new political parties, outlawed labor strikes, collective action, and censored all media.[1] In this time period, the KMT also built Leninist-style party organizations in major factories, and the state corporates and factory organizers worked together to tackle worker's subjections.[2] The KMT government also executed a national industrialization policy that led to the development of many specific industries including transportation, electricity, petroleum, as telecommunications as state-owned or public companies. Labor unions were then formed to support the state and its economic plan instead of representing as a collective bargaining platform for workers in these state-own industries.[3] It was not until the 1980s when the emergence of new political forces from the new middle class emerged within Taiwan weakened Kuomintang strong opposition on social movements, and the Democratic Progressive Party was formed in 1986. In 1987, the martial law ended.[1] Initially, the labor movements focused on issues such as overtime and annual bonuses, but then this movement turned into seizures of labor unions. Many corporates had close ties with the Kuomintang, but with the labor movements, the KMT party branches lost their privileges within these enterprises.[2]

Post-martial law

In the early 1990s, labor unions began to demand the KMT to withdraw KMT's force and influence from unions. They did so by spreading corrupted stories about the party and collaborated with the DPP to uncover illegal activities of the KMT.[4] During the 1997 Asian financial crisis, labor disputes and unemployment issues were brought to the attention of the government, and workers began to recognize the importance of autonomous unions.[5] After the 2000 election, Kuomintang lost its position as the ruling party in both the Legislative Yuan and the executive branch. The Democratic Progressive Party introduced a bill to revise the Labor Standards Law and tried to set a legal limit of working hours per week to 44 hours. However, after compromising with the KMT, the bill was then revised to set the legal working hour to 84 hours per two weeks. This law went into effect in 2001.[6] This was seen as the first move of the DPP asserting their executive power over labor movements.

In addition to the revision of Labor Standards law, the state also revised Union law and Labor Dispute Mediation law. The organizing of labors in the 1980s did not have much involvement of the opposition political figures. However, workers followed their agendas and asserted their opposition to the enterprises and the government.[7] As the labor movement progress, there is also an increase in disputes between workers and their employers. The number of disputed cases rose from 1609 cases in 1987 to 10955 cases in 2001. There is also an increase in union memberships as the labor movement progresses. The unionization rate increased from 37.58% in 1987 to 39.40% in 2001. In addition, many state-owned enterprises privatized starting 1989, and about 30 companies privatized between 1989 and 2003.[8] These SOE-privatization is different from many developed countries because these companies didn't face economic pressure such as debts, but these enterprises privatized merely from political and macro-economics conditions.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 Chu, Yin-wah (1996). "Democracy and Organized Labor in Taiwan: The 1986 Transition". Asian Survey. 36: 495–510 – via JSTOR.
  2. 1 2 Ho, Ming-sho (2006). "CHALLENGING STATE CORPORATISM: THE POLITICS OF TAIWAN'S LABOR FEDERATION MOVEMENT" (PDF). The China Journal. 56: 107–127.
  3. ↑ Tai, Hsiao-Hui (2012). "Labour Identity and Union Strategies in Taiwan: A Case Study" (PDF).
  4. ↑ Ho, Ming-sho (2007). "The Rise and Fall of Leninist Control in Taiwan's Industry". The China Quarterly. 189: 162–189 – via Cambridge.
  5. ↑ Wang, James W. Y. (2010). "The Political Economy of Collective Labour Legislation in Taiwan". Journal of Current Chinese Affairs. 3/2010: 51–85.
  6. ↑ Huang, Chang-Ling (2002). "THE POLITICS OF REREGULATION: GLOBALIZATION,DEMOCRATIZATION, AND THE TAIWANESELABOR MOVEMENT". The Developing Economics. XL–3: 305–26 – via Wiley.
  7. ↑ HO, MING-SHO (2003). "Democratization and Autonomous Unionism in Taiwan: The Case of Petrochemical Workers" (PDF). Issues & Studies. 39 (3): 105–135.
  8. ↑ Kong, Tat Yan (2006). "Labour and Globalization: Locating the Northeast Asian Newly Industrializing Countries". Review of International Political Economy. 13 (1): 103–128 – via JSTOR.
  9. ↑ Liou, Kuo-Tsai (1992). "Privatizing State-owned Enterprises: the Taiwan Experience". International Review of Administrative Science. 58: 403–419 – via SAGE.
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