Taipei: The Ministry of Labor (MOL) is actively collecting opinions on a public proposal advocating for three-day weekends in Taiwan, as announced by Labor Minister Hung Sun-han. This comes as the ministry prepares to provide a formal response to the proposal by early December.
According to Focus Taiwan, the MOL is engaging with various workers and businesses to evaluate the potential impact of a three-day weekend system. Minister Hung emphasized the importance of understanding different perspectives, given Taiwan's diverse range of enterprises and employment types. Currently, Taiwan observes a 40-hour workweek, but it is common for many to exceed this limit.
The proposal emerged from the government's public policy participation platform, which allows proposals that garner 5,000 endorsements within 60 days to be considered. The four-day workweek petition surpassed this threshold, receiving over 5,700 endorsements by October 7. Consequently, the MOL must issue a formal response by December 7.
Public discourse on the issue has been limited since the proposal's endorsement, and Minister Hung has not clarified whether the government has engaged with interest groups in the past six weeks. When questioned about potential pay cuts or labor shortages resulting from the proposal, Hung reiterated the ongoing nature of the opinion collection process.
In 2023, a similar proposal reached the necessary threshold for consideration, but was ultimately rejected by the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration and the MOL due to concerns about its broad impact and the need for supporting measures. Minister Hung noted that the MOL has been working to reduce long working hours by incrementally raising the minimum wage over the past decade.
Globally, countries like the United Kingdom and Iceland have experimented with four-day workweeks, though these initiatives are often not mandatory and apply selectively. Taiwan's ongoing deliberations reflect a cautious approach to potentially adopting a similar system.