By / MOOK Scenic Spots Home Travel Life Network Editorial Team
 
In line with the implementation of the two-day weekend policy, the Ministry of Labor announced amendments to the Enforcement Rules of the Labor Standards Act at the end of 2015, reducing the number of national holidays for workers from 19 to 12 days. These changes took effect in 2016 and sparked controversy. Lawmakers called for the Ministry of Labor to withdraw the administrative order and restore the seven-day holiday for workers. On June 21, 2016, the Ministry of Labor announced that the amendment was invalid and reinstated the seven-day holiday.

In 2015, the Ministry of Labor amended the Labor Standards Act to remove the seven-day holiday, but the Legislative Yuan decided not to approve it and returned it to the Executive Yuan. On June 21, 2016, the Ministry of Labor announced that the amendment to the enforcement rules was invalid and reinstated the seven-day holiday. The remaining five national holidays this year include Teachers' Day on September 28, Retrocession Day on October 25, Chiang Kai-shek's Birthday on October 31, Sun Yat-sen's Birthday on November 12, and Constitution Day on December 25.

If workers can reclaim the original seven-day holiday, they will have more flexibility in planning their 2017 travel schedules. According to the 2017 calendar, there are four-day-plus consecutive holidays including the Spring Holiday and the Qingming Holiday; three-day-plus consecutive holidays include 228 Peace Memorial Day, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and National Day. If workers can reclaim the seven-day holiday, New Year’s Eve will offer a four-day break and Christmas can become a three-day holiday. Coupled with the other five holidays, the total number of rest days in 2017 will increase from 116 to 126.

How to spend Children’s Day holiday: Parent-child fun in Tainan with flower viewing and visits to Chimei Museum