Taipei: A dispatched workers union has accused Taipei Metro of violating procurement rules, which results in cleaning staff receiving fewer days of paid leave than they should be legally entitled to under labor rights law. The "Taiwan Labor Dispatch Industry Union" held a press conference at the Taipei City Council to denounce the city-run Taipei Metro as "leave thieves."

According to Focus Taiwan, the public transportation provider flouts provisions in the Government Procurement Act, leading to cleaners who have worked at the company for 10 years receiving only three days of annual paid leave. The press conference was organized by the union's adviser Cheng Chung-jui, the Confederation of Taipei Trade Unions Chair Chiu Yi-kan, Kuomintang Taipei City Councilor Liu Tsai-wei, and Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City Councilor Ho Meng-hua.

Cheng stated that as of September 2024, all 652 cleaners working at Taipei Metro's 117 stations were outsourced. He explained that Taipei Metro employs a two-year contract model with cleaning companies, and when the contract changes hands, workers are dismissed and must be rehired by the new contractor. Consequently, workers' years of service are reset, and their paid leave accrual restarts each time a contract ends.

Under the Labor Standards Act, an employee working at the same company for one year should receive seven days of leave, and those employed continuously for 10 years should receive 16 days. Cheng warned that without long-term contracts, many cleaners could face the situation of having worked for a decade or more and still only receive three days off annually.

Cheng also accused the corporation of suppressing cleaners' salaries by keeping them at entry-level wages. He highlighted that the outsourcing system means workers are hesitant to resist to protect their rights and interests, calling on the company to directly employ cleaners rather than outsource the positions. Cheng demanded that Taipei Metro "immediately" audit and publicly disclose the employment durations of all outsourced cleaning staff.

In response, Chen Chung-Chu, director of the Station Operations Division at Taipei Metro, stated that the cleaning contracts include leave entitlements. However, the metro official mentioned that the company will review its contracts to check for any discrepancies or noncompliance.