Taipei, July 19 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian said in his weekly televised address Saturday that laborers form the basis of Taiwan's development and that the government will take care of them.
According to his plan, the president said, the government will achieve the goal of helping more than 97,000 unemployed laborers find jobs by Sept. 15.
Chen said that as the son of a tenant farmer, he knows about being a grassroots laborer. "I have always made listening to the voice of the working man and the protection of his livelihood a top priority, " he said, adding that the "silent laborers" also need immediate assistance."
He said that the assistance should not be a quick fix, but should be a consistent model of "life-long thinking, " in terms of welfare protection for working laborers, care for retired laborers and assistance for jobless laborers.
He said that the Executive Yuan has over the past three years pushed for the legislation of a gender equality employment law, a vocational injury protection law, an employment insurance law and a law to protect against mass lay-offs. The Labor Standards Law has also been revised, he added.
Benefits for elderly laborers will in the future be changed from a lumpsum upon retirement to a pension system so that they will have more comprehensive protection, Chen went on.
On the other hand, he said, to cut the jobless rate, the Executive Yuan submitted proposals late last year to increase first employment opportunities and expand public construction projects. The proposal has received support from legislators across the party spectrum and as of July 1, 30,000 people have been employed as a result.
He added that by Sept. 15, more than 97,000 laborers will have found jobs and said the Council of Labor Affairs will also launch a program of loans for laborers in times of need.