Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei mayoral candidate Sean Lien (連勝文) yesterday pledged to give first-time jobseekers would receive a monthly subsidy of NT$6,000 for a maximum of six months during their period of unemployment if he is elected.
Lien presented his policy platform on labor issues, which focuses on fresh graduates, students participating in industrial internships in university-industry partnerships and mentally or physically challenged people.
At the inaugural ceremony of a support association composed of labor groups, Lien said that he would emulate New Taipei City’s policy of providing new graduates with job-seeking allowances so that they could finance their needs while looking for a job.
Lien’s campaign office did not estimate the size of the budget needed for the project, saying that it would be subject to the number of applicants each year.
The New Taipei City Government spent NT$30 million (US$971,000) last year on the allowances, office spokesperson Liu Kuan-yin (劉冠吟) said.
Lien said that he would enhance the city’s employment network to assist fresh graduates in their job search, provide incentives for Taipei-based businesses to encourage the recruitment of physically or mentally challenged people, and improve working conditions for students under university-industry programs.
If he is elected, Lien said, his government would set up a consultation mechanism for trade unions to seek advice on legal, financial and accounting problems to enhance their capabilities.
Lien also vowed that he would further restrict the use of dispatch workers, who are vulnerable to exploitation and lack of protection under the existing legal system, while he set up standards of employment for the group.
Addressing about 1,000 supporters, Lien said he was confident that he would be much more capable of attracting new investments to the city than independent mayoral candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲).
“In order to protect workers’ interests, not only do we have to ensure their rights are safeguarded, we must also attract more investors to help businesses boost benefits,” Lien said.
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