Taiwan has lifted its ban on hiring Filipino workers for key projects following the resumption of direct air links between the two countries, Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said yesterday.
Laguesma said he had been informed by the Philippines' representative office in Taipei that Taiwan's Council of Labor Affairs had lifted the ban.
The ban on hiring Filipino workers in manufacturing sectors and public infrastructure projects came into force in June in what was widely seen as a retaliation for Manila's suspension of the bilateral aviation agreement between them.
The ban caused a drop in the number of workers sent to Taiwan, causing a "pretty large" decrease in the annual remittances of Filipino workers back home in the last few months, Laguesma said in a radio interview.
In October, Taiwan and the Philippines restored direct air links after a one-year hiatus following negotiations where Manila agreed to revive the 1996 bilateral aviation pact.
Previously, agencies supplying Filipino labor to Taiwan warned that the country could lose U$1billion in remittances and about 20,000 jobs traditionally reserved for Filipinos in Taiwan's key sectors due to the ban.
RSS