TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A plan requiring migrant workers to receive their employer’s consent before being allowed to buy an e-bike will be dropped from a proposal for review by the Ministry of Transportation next week, reports said Saturday (Dec. 10).

The ministry’s Directorate General of Highways (DGH) came under fire for its proposal from labor organizations and lawmakers, who called the requirement for the letter from employers discriminatory.

As a result of the criticism, the DGH called meetings with relevant departments during the past week, during which a consensus was reached to drop the requirement, the Liberty Times reported.

Critics of the original proposal argued that as the migrant workers were allowed to take driving lessons and tests, there was no need for their employers to be involved in the purchase of an electric bicycle.

According to the official procedure, the DGH will submit the new version to the ministry next week, but until the latter promulgates the measure and announces a date for it to become effective, migrant workers who want to buy an e-bike will still have to present a letter from their employer first.

An estimated 600 to 700 license plates have been issued per day since they became obligatory for e-bikes Nov. 30, the report said.