In a press conference held at the Legislative Yuan yesterday, an ex-security guard accused his former employer of violating the labor law by putting him to work for 16 hours a day. And what he found even more intolerable was that such an arrangement had been approved by the local government.

The security industry falls under the jurisdiction of Article 84-1 of the Labor Standards Act, and some security companies require employees to work up to 360 hours per month, or 16 hours per day.

Mr. Lee lost his job soon after filing a lawsuit against his former employer, while another former security industry worker, Mr. Wu, says that he never received any overtime while working 14-hour days.

Under Article 64 of the Labor Standards Act, security companies can set their own work hours and vacation policies due to the special nature of the industry.

The policies have to be approved by local authorities, and the Council of Labor Affairs says that local authorities are at fault.

Both lawmakers and labor unions are up in arms, and many security industry workers are voicing dissatisfaction over the way the CLA is dealing with the issue.