Number of Laborers on Unpaid Leave Plunges

Taipei, Feb. 17, 2012 (CENS)--Taiwan's economy may bottom out in the first quarter, as evidenced by the appearance of order transfer and rush orders for inventory replenishment, as well as the continuous decline in the number of laborers on unpaid leave.

The Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) announced yesterday (Feb. 16) that as of Feb. 15, the number of domestic companies undertaking unpaid leave had dropped, for the third straight month, to 73, for decrease of 14 from 87 in the last calculation, while the number of laborers on unpaid leave had plunged to 6,959, for decrease of 4,987 from the last calculation. The latter figure represents the largest reduction ever and is the first time for the figure to drop below the 10,000 mark.

Chen Hui-ling, director of the department of labor conditions, CLA, pointed out that in the latest calculation, 21 enterprises ceased the practice of unpaid leave, including nine larger enterprises with employment exceeding 100. As a result, the number of laborers on unpaid leave dropped significantly. In the latest calculation, however, there were seven enterprises, mostly smaller ones with employment under 100, starting to undertake unpaid leave, which involved 244 laborers.

Some factories reported that the business situation in the first quarter appeared to be better than original expectation, thanks to the appearance of order transfer and inventory replenishment. Due to the influx of rush orders, FPD (flat panel display) and LED (light emitting diode) firms, such as Everlight Electronics, have canceled unpaid leave and even asked their workers to work overtime. Huga Optotech, a LED firm, has also ceased unpaid leave in early January. Market players said that decline for overall quotes for LED has alleviated, underscoring gradual depletion of inventory, and predicted demand will pick up further in the second quarter.