2 Company-sponsored training was not popular during this period.
Apprenticeships were also not common in Taiwan. However, as a rule,
more skilled workers received formal on-the-job training (OJT) than did
semi-skilled and unskilled workers, and foreign-owned companies
offered more OJT programmes than did local companies (Lee, 1995: 93).
3 The compensation package included basic pay and various types of
bonuses, such as year-end, competition, invention, long-services and so
on (Chen, 1998: 160). It was common practice for Taiwanese companies
to adopt the Japanese seniority-based wage system for base pay (Lee,
1995: 110). With the traditional culture of avoiding conflict between
management and employees, most workers could be promoted along
the grades of their job titles if their annual performances were classified
as ‘above-average’ (Chen, 1998: 161).
4 Trade unions were controlled by the government during this period
(Zhu et al., 2000). The ruling Kumintang (KMT) party guided most
unions through local government control over the election of union
officials, through the fostering of KMT branches at workplaces and
through ‘supervision’ by larger affiliates of the sole national union peak
organization, the Chinese Federation of Labour (CFL) (Zhu et al., 2000:
38). Therefore, the government was able to maintain a low minimum
wage and control the adjustment of wage rates in the public sector (Lee,
1995: 98).
However, during the technology-intensive industries’ expansion period, not
only did the structure of the economy change quickly, but so did industrial
relations, human resource management practices, and the government’s labour
policies. The industrial system became more complex and formal, and govern-
ment policy shifted towards a more pro-labour orientation. The outcome was
that the government amended some labour laws in the 1980s, including the
Collective Agreement Law in 1982 (in conjunction with the Labour Union Law
enacted in 1929 and last amended in 1975), the Labour Disputes Law and the
Labour Insurance Act in 1988, and the Vocational Training Act in 1983. The
ruling Nationist Party (KMT) controlled most unions at workplaces and
through ‘supervision’ by larger affiliates of the national union organization –
the Chinese Federation of Labour (CFL).
The changes in industrial structure and government policy and legislation
have had a profound impact on HRM and the structure of organisation in
Taiwan. To cope with the increase in production costs employers adopted
many strategies, such as employing lower-wage foreign workers with the per-
mission of the government (companies can employ foreign workers up to 30%
of its total employees) (Zhu et al., 2000), improving the efficiency of the work-
force by providing more training, introducing automated machinery to substi-
tute for labour, and subcontracting work (Lee, 1995: 105). In addition, to
HRM in East Asia 205