TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Forty-seven assistants working for Kaohsiung City’s council members and township representatives have vowed to fight for a pay raise that they say has been frozen for 23 years.
They make on average NT$35,000 (US$1,100) a month, with no overtime compensation. During the election season and for cultural events, their working hours per day usually exceed 15 hours. According to the law, only legislator’s assistants can file for overtime payment, while the assistants to city or county council members cannot.
Lin Li-hong (???), an assistant to city councilor Chen Hui-wen (???), said this week, for example, he started working from 6 a.m. and returned home after 9 p.m. He attended the Zhong Yuan Pudu (????) festival events hosted by hundreds of townships for ghost month. Since the councilor could not attend all the events, Lin went on Chen’s behalf to meet constituents and listen to their views.
A union was formed on Friday (Aug. 11), with 47 workers, most in their early 30s, from all political parties signing up on the first day. Chu Chi-hong (???) was elected as the first union leader.
The 25-year-old National Tsinghua University graduate has an economics degree and is the assistant to Jimmy Chien (???), a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) city councilor for Kaohsiung.
It’s a low-paid job with a heavy workload, Chu said, “but we still hang on there for the ideals.”
He told LTN the mandatory cash compensation for each assistant has not changed since 2000, while the country’s minimum wage has surged 52.78%. Outdated rules and a limited budget make it difficult for their employers to give them a raise, he added.
Some city councillors showed up at the union establishment ceremony to show their support. Chang Po-yang (???), Taiwan Statebuilding Party’s Kaohsiung city councilor, said compensation for their assistants should be reviewed and they should be paid reasonably.
“You cannot expect them to stay passionate about their work forever when they need to work extremely long hours at the expense of a quality of life without being properly compensated,” Chang said.
