The number of workers on formal unpaid leave programs in Taiwan increased over the past two weeks, with the manufacturing sector most affected, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) reported on Wednesday.
MOL data showed that the number of workers on partial furloughs through agreements with their employers and reported to the MOL rose to 15,190 as of Feb. 1, up 994 from Jan. 16 before the Lunar New Year holiday got underway.
During the Jan. 16 – Feb. 1 period, the number of employers who put in place these unpaid leave programs was also up by 121 to 2,274, MOF figures showed.
Huang Wei-chen (黃維琛), director of the MOL’s Department of Labor Standards and Equal Employment, told CNA that the local manufacturing sector was the biggest contributor to the increase in furloughed workers, accounting for nearly half of them.
Some 360 and 100 workers at a machine tool and a metal materials company started on unpaid leave programs, respectively, during the Jan. 16 – Feb. 1 period, with the two businesses blaming a “cut in orders” for the need to keep workers away an extra day a week.
Small or micro-sized companies in other sectors, such as hostels, restaurants, and transportation and warehousing companies, were still implementing partial furlough programs, Huang said, noting that 6,714 employees at 1,269 travel agencies remained affected as of Feb. 1.
With Taiwan’s reopening after a relaxation of COVID control measures, domestic tourism is expected to benefit from the return of foreign tour groups, he said, though that demand has yet to materialize.
In 2019, the last full year before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, an average of 4 million travelers per month departed from, landed at, or transited through Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, compared to only 1.3 million in January 2023.
The majority of passengers last month were also outbound travelers, Huang said, with many taking overseas trips for the Lunar New Year holiday.
The MOL usually updates its furloughed worker data on a weekly basis, reporting unpaid leave numbers for companies that have registered their furlough programs with the ministry.
The programs typically last for less than three months, with employees taking five to eight days of unpaid leave per month, according to the MOL.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel