Furloughed worker numbers down as glass maker ends unpaid leave plan

Taipei, Dec. 2 (CNA) The number of workers in formal furlough programs in Taiwan fell by about 3.6 percent in the second half of November as a glass manufacturer said it was ending its unpaid leave program, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) said Monday.

The number of workers placed on unpaid leave programs reported to the MOL as of Nov. 30 fell by 195 to 5,296 from 5,491 as of Nov. 15, but the number of employers with furlough programs in place rose to 298 from 288 15 days earlier.

Speaking with CNA, MOL Labor Conditions and Employment Equality specialist Li Yi-hsuan (李怡萱) said the fall in furloughed workers was largely due to a glass maker bringing about 400 workers back to production lines because of an increase in orders.

Li said the company had no plans to reinstate its unpaid leave program any time soon.

While the glass maker ended its furlough plan, the export-oriented manufacturing sector still had the most furloughed workers of any major sector because of the struggles of non-tech sectors amid weak global demand.

As of Nov. 30, the number of furloughed workers in the manufacturing sector stood at 4,091, accounting for more than 77 percent of the total.

The service sector remained relatively stable, Li said, with the number of furloughed workers in the retail and wholesale sector at 441 as of Nov. 30, up 16 from Nov. 15, and the number in the hotel and food/beverage sector at 501 as of Nov. 30, up seven from Nov. 15.

Meanwhile, the number of furloughed workers in the support service industry, which mainly consists of travel agencies, fell to 64 as of Nov. 30 from 65, MOL data showed.

Li said the increase in the hotel and food/beverage sectors largely reflected the sustained impact of a magnitude 7.2 earthquake in early April and subsequent typhoons in Hualien County in eastern Taiwan on its tourism sector.

The MOL updates its furloughed worker data on the 1st and 16th of every month and reports on the number of employees placed on furloughs registered by companies with the ministry.

Most of the enterprises implementing furlough programs are small companies that employ fewer than 50 people.

Unpaid leave programs typically last for less than three months, with employees taking five to eight days of unpaid leave per month, according to the MOL.