The Cabinet has passed a draft bill to reduce the work week from 84 hours every two weeks to 40 hours a week.
The Cabinet passed the amendment to the Labor Standards Act on Thursday. The draft bill also caps overtime work at 54 hours a month and formalizes the five-day work week.
Premier Mao Chi-kuo said in a Cabinet meeting that reducing working hours is a major government policy. He also said that the government hopes to strike a balance between business interests and labor welfare.
Taiwanese people work some of the longest hours in the world. A 2013 study by the Taiwan-based China Times found that the Taiwanese work an average of 2,140.8 hours a year, much longer than the Japanese average of 1,745.2 hours.