Labor coalition threatens protest if rights sacrificed in tariff talks

Taipei, July 4 (CNA) A labor coalition warned Friday that its members would stage a massive protest encircling the Executive Yuan if the rights of its members were sacrificed during ongoing trade and tariff negotiations between Taiwan and the United States.

In a statement, the Taiwan Labor Action Coalition in Response to Tariff Impact, founded on June 17 by members of about 70 labor groups in Taiwan, criticized the government for insisting on "closed-door negotiations."

It said the government has refused to engage in any substantive communications or concrete discussions with labor groups during the negotiating process, the group said in the statement.

The coalition even feared that the government may have already made a secret deal with Washington that could potentially sell out the interests of workers in Taiwan because labor groups have not been part of the discussion, it said.

U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to impose "reciprocal" tariffs on dozens of countries on April 2, including an across-the-board 32 percent tariff against goods made in Taiwan, but paused them a week later for 90 days pending negotiations on possible trade deals.

With less than a week to go before the 90-day pause ends on July 9, the coalition said the Executive Yuan simply stated in a recent press release that there has been "constructive progress in the trade negotiations," without providing any details.

For workers, the right to work is the most crucial and non-negotiable bottom line that allows them and their families to survive, it said, adding that people will never accept having their right to work sold away in behind-closed-doors negotiations by the government.

The coalition warned the government that it would not accept conditions that severely harm domestic industrial workers without any prior communication or discussion with labor groups.

It also firmly opposes any so-called "subsidies' for workers as the government has previously announced as part of its U.S. tariff support package.

The government must make substantive commitments and adopt supporting measures to ensure that Taiwanese workers can continue working within their original industries rather than promoting deceptive programs that pay lip service to job transfers, the coalition said.

According to Cabinet Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) in a press release issued on April 21, the NT$88 billion support package will provide subsidies to workers in designated industries whose employers have to reduce their hours or place them on furlough.