Thousands in Taiwan protest rising unemployment

May 1, 2009, 8:10 GMT

   Taipei - About 10,000 union members took to the streets of Taipei Friday to protest the government's failure to curb rising joblessness on the island.

   'No more unemployment' and 'Safeguard our working rights,' shouted the protestors on May Day as they marched from the square in front of the Presidential Office to the cabinet building.

   Waving banners, the protestors lashed out at the government of President Ma Ying-jeou for failing to improve the economy and curb growing unemployment.

   'The employment condition has deteriorated continuously, but the government has taken no practical measures to address the problem,' an organizer said.

   About 100 protestors later attempted to break into the cabinet's office to see Premier Liu Chao-shiuan and voice their dissatisfaction over what they claimed was government inaction to increase jobs in Taiwan.

   They were stopped by hundreds of police who formed a human wall to prevent them from breaking in. No major violence, only pushing and minor scuffles, were reported.

   In the face of the global recession, Taiwan's economy contracted more than 8 per cent in the final quarter of last year with the government forecasting a contraction of more than 2.7 per cent for this year.

   Its jobless rate hit a record high of 5.81 per cent in March in its 15th-consecutive monthly rise, with more than 630,000 people out of jobs.

   Overall, about 1.37 million people have been affected by the job losses of their relatives, some of whom were the sole supporters in the families, labour officials said.

   They said the jobless rate could surge past 6 per cent in April because of Taiwan's lacklustre economic performance.