Taiwan Labour Front
台灣勞工陣線

The "Taiwan Labour Legal Support Association" was formed on May 1st, 1984, taking an important step forward for the Taiwanese labor movement. Outside of assisting with specific labor-capital struggles, this also promoted the labor movement and values of social democracy. With the lifting of martial law, in 1988, the organization changed its name to the "Taiwan Labor Movement Support Association", moving from a support position to the frontline, supporting labor unions and organizations, and allowing unions to grow and strengthen their autonomy.

In 1992, the name was changed again, to "Taiwan Labour Front," with the aim of developing Taiwan to transition to a welfare state, and carrying out actions aimed at reforming politics, the economy, labor, and society, to realize the values of political democracy, economic democracy, and social democracy.

The Taiwan Labour Front's Long Road of Forty Years

"The road to reform is long and slow, but people learn to be like the snail, and move slowly forward."

Unity is strength and strengthening unions is not only to improve workers' conditions, but to allow Taiwan to improve key foundations, to promote labor policy, and legislate fundamental rights for labor protections. In 40 years, the Labour Front and workers have succeeded in promoting laws including the Act for Worker Protection of Mass Redundancy, Employment Insurance Act, Labor Incident Act, Workplace Occupational Hazard Insurance Law, and promoting the Labor Standards Act, Labor Union Act, amendment of the Collective Agreement Act, allowing labor protections to be more complete.

Discourse and Publishing, Continuing to Write Stories...

Providing discourse and publishing continues to be an important task of the Taiwan Labour Front. Outside of workers' magazines, in forty years, there have been many accomplishments of publishing. Important publications include "An Age of Collapse," "New Roadmap For A Fair Economy: White Paper on Labor Policy", "Challenges and Breakthroughs in Taiwan's New Era of Union Development," "What is Social Democracy? Sweden's Practice and Challenges, "When Labor Hires Capital: Overturning Capitalism with ''Economic Democracy'", "Bloodless War", and etc.

In High Spirits at 40, Continuing to Strive Forward

In the past forty years, the Taiwan Labour Front has had clear ideals, and has pragmatically continued forward, linking with other social forces, promoting social equality and sustainable development as part of its political agenda. The organization has different core tasks to accomplish going forward as it confronts future trials and it will continue to promote the following including:

1) Raising the dignity of workers and legislating social policy

2) Strengthen the resilience of Taiwanese society as it faces new challenges

3) Expanding social unity and the unity of Taiwanese social equality and sustainability