TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Labor groups on Wednesday said the opposition majority at the Legislative Yuan should reintroduce Christmas as a holiday, while everybody should have May Day off.

Dec. 25 was a public holiday to mark the introduction of a new Constitution in 1946, but it was abolished by the DPP administration of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) to make way for a new workweek. Labor activists said the reform took away seven annual days off, which they want back, per CNA.

The labor groups will protest outside the Legislative Yuan on Jan. 2 to make their demands to the three major political parties. They also pointed out that during the presidential and legislative campaigns in January 2024, the KMT and TPP supported seven annual public holidays.

Now that the two opposition parties hold a majority of seats in the legislature, they should fulfill their election promises, the labor groups said. The KMT and the TPP should table a concrete proposal and pass it, they added.

The seven annual days off should include Dec. 25, while May 1 should become a holiday, including for students and teachers, the protesters said. 

A railway union representative warned against replacing the extra days off with compensatory working days, emphasizing that the holidays should reduce the overall working time and not correspond to employers’ demands.