In the early morning of January 15, 2003, just before the conclusion of its session and after long-drawn-out consultation between the government and opposition, the Legislative Yuan finally passed a "supplementary budget" worth a total of NT$2 billion to fund the Expanding Employment Through Public Service Program. The program is expected to create 750,000 one-year job opportunities and allow middle-aged and older unemployed workers to breathe a sigh of relief.
The NT$5 billion Expanding Public Works Construction Program was temporarily postponed, but it was agreed that the bill will be given first priority in the next session after People First Party legislator Thomas Lee staged a sit-in, in an emotional boycott. The program will wait until after Premier Yu Shyi-kun proposes a supplementary budget report and answers legislators' questions on February 27. The Legislative Yuan will approve the budget and program together.
The steadily rising rate of unemployment over the past two years is the background to this emergency employment program, and to a succession of other measures intended to help the unemployed. Starting from last year's Employment Hope Program and continuing with the Perpetual Employment Program, the Emergency Hiring Measures, and the Multiple Employment Development Program, each of these projects, worth hundreds of millions of NT dollars, were passed in the hope of creating tens of thousands of job opportunities.
Unfortunately the economic situation is critical and even with the resolve of these policies, it is estimated last year's unemployment rate topped 5.2%, with the number of unemployed workers approaching 500,000 and the total number of the population affected exceeding two million. There have even been news reports of whole families committing suicide after becoming desperate over hundreds of thousand NT dollars of debt. The lament of the unemployed has become a burden that society cannot bear.
As a result, the Executive Yuan is hurrying to push through the two emergency employment programs, worth NT$7 billion, before the Chinese new year. The hope is to answer the cry for help and provide suitable support for the unemployed. However, there are still a few opposition party legislators who insist on their opposing opinions, whether based on legislative procedure, the national finances, macroeconomic development or the effectiveness of the legislation, and are causing a deadlock. The current atmosphere in the Executive Yuan and the Legislative Yuan is tense.
For unemployment problems of this magnitude, it is unlikely that extraordinary legislative measures will solve the problem overnight. At the end of December 2002, the total budget was thoroughly examined. Why isn't a long-term employment bill being channeled into normal budgetary policy? And why was a special budget suddenly rushed through?
Moreover, there is national financial distress with the government deficit exceeding NT$3 trillion. If loans are raised to hire unemployed workers, then a balanced budget will not be attainable within the foreseeable future. This bill would also dampen the improving economy and delay financial reform efforts, and the misallocation of resources would influence larger government projects, and be detrimental to long-term economic growth. Furthermore, the way the Executive Yuan is allowing the unemployed to register although the two programs have not yet been passed, has caused the Legislative Yuan to feel it is not being respected.
However, the crux of the problem is what essential policy effects will occur after spending this huge sum of money? Will it allow the unemployed to not only have fish to eat, but also a fishing pole with which to learn how to fish? And more importantly, will it allow the fish pond to have an unlimited supply of fish and guarantee that all of the nation's workers have a suitable job and not have to worry about committing suicide out of fear of unemployment?
The current Expanding Employment Through Public Service Program calls for the allocation of funds via a lottery, and gives priority to those middle-aged and older, those unemployed the longest, and those who are the worst off economically. The program calls for new jobs, including assisting government entities edit lists and set up digital databases, conduct data surveys, plant trees, sweep streets, care for cemetries, answer phone calls, work at reception desks, and so on. There are many types of projects, and all require unskilled labor. Monthly salaries are around NT$20,000, and the jobs are good for one year.
To absorb workers, each national and local government unit operates under a strict quota and must do their utmost to fulfill these requirements. Some cities and counties have, overnight, been requested to hire five or six thousand workers. This is greater than the number of employees currently working for these cities and counties. Some government units can only use five or six workers, but the order from above is "add a zero to that number." Some units have "used their imaginations" to dream up all kinds of new jobs. In the future, the new hires may find that three of them are picking up a single scrap of litter, that they are set to dig holes and fill them in again, or that they get paid to sit all day and do nothing.
In response, Premier Yu Shyi-kun released a special position paper stating that the solution to the unemployment problem is to develop the economy. For that purpose, the government has already proposed and is currently pursuing a macroeconomic blueprint: Challenge 2008-the Six Year National Development Plan. The paper says that the unemployment problem results from the industrial transformation process and reform needs time. Meanwhile, unemployed workers are stuck in a trap and require basic assistance. The government has already implemented an advanced national unemployment policy that has turned from the passive stance of giving unemployment assistance to an active stance of providing employment services and professional training, government job creation, and helping workers change occupations. The integrated emergency employment package passed this time is part of this approach.
Yu emphasized that long-term unemployment disheartens people, causing them to lose ambition, even to the point of becoming permanently unemployed. This causes great loss to individuals, families, and society. Accordingly, the proposal to give temporary work to the long-term unemployed is designed to maintain their hope for future employment. This valuable investment would assist them in gradually becoming more productive and finding suitable work. The intangible "social capital" that would accumulate is not something readily measured by GNP. While all sides are studying the advantages and disadvantages of the numbers, don't forget that concern for people should be the major focus.
Observing the global situation, the European Union is struggling with an unemployment rate of around 10%. Even the economically vibrant United States has an unemployment rate of 6%. For the future, Taiwan has no special vantage in avoiding unemployment and will likely follow in the footsteps of more advanced economies. The origin of this wave of unemployment is the large number of traditional labor-intensive industries that are closing factories and moving overseas, a trend which results in "structural unemployment." As the economy improves there is no hope that these unemployed can return to their former manufacturing occupations.
Since there are no jobs to return to, many countries are assisting the unemployed in learning new skills, such as computing, word processing and software operation, in the hope that it will increase their competitiveness. Unfortunately, for the past few years hi-tech industries have also fallen on hard times. This sector also suffers extreme fluctuations, and employment stability is poor. Where then should the unemployed turn? It's not just Taiwan; the whole world is asking this question.
The NT$2 billion employment package has been passed, and an additional NT$5 billion is awaiting approval. The hope is that this well-intentioned bill can help our people and solve the urgent needs of unemployed households. After high emotions have settled, and there is calm between the government and opposition, our nation's financial policy can once again take the path of steady economic development. In this way, the NT$7 billion price paid will not be a waste, and this debate will have even greater value.
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Faced with unprecedentedly high unemployment, the government has allocated $70 billion for its emergency employment program, in the hopes of helping the unemployed make it through. (photo by Jimmy Lin)
