Print

Mail

wiki links

Council suggests foreign labor cuts

The Council for Economic Planning and Development suggested yesterday that the government cut back on the number of foreign caregivers to help ease unemployment.

Council officials suggested that foreign labor policies be revised to gradually replace some 20,000 out of the nearly 110,000 foreign maids and caregivers now working in Taiwan with unemployed individuals. The program has been projected to take three years.

If some 20,000 domestic caregivers' jobs were taken by local workers or aboriginals instead of foreigners, it is estimated that it would save the government about NT$600 million (US$17.19 million) in unemployment subsidies over three years and generate NT$5.4 billion (US$154.73 million) in per capita income, council officials said.

According to council tallies, a total of 34,153 cases of irregularities involving foreign caregivers were reported since foreign laborers were introduced nearly a decade ago.

As of the end of August, 311,464 foreign laborers were working in Taiwan. Of these, 162,912 were working in the manufacturing sector and 119,110 were employed as maids or caregivers.

The government began to slash the importation of foreign laborers in September 2000 to protect job opportunities because of worsening unemployment.
This story has been viewed 1354 times.