With some of the Thai laborers working on the construction of the mass rapid transit (MRT) system in Kaohsiung due to return to their home country tomorrow, the project could face a labor shortage, Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp (KRTC) officials said yesterday.
The officials said the KRTC employs 1,398 Thai laborers, but 171 of them will leave tomorrow as their two-year contracts have been completed. By the end of this year, a total of 580 of the laborers will have left the country.
As the construction of the MRT system is now entering the track-laying stage, officials expressed concern that a labor shortage could delay the completion of the construction project beyond October next year.
Contractors have also complained about the labor problem and asked the KRTC to hire additional foreign laborers. However, the company is reluctant to do so as a result of the labor riot that occurred last August amid allegations that a management company contracted by the KRTC was mistreating workers.
During the riot, more than 1,000 Thais protested what they claimed was inhumane treatment by Huapan Administration Consultant Co -- their management company. KRTC deputy general manager Chu Fu-chiang (
Tseng Ching-lung, a Kaohsiung County official in charge of foreign workers, said he had inspected dormitories at Kangshan, Fengshan and Kaohsiung almost daily since last September and had seen great improvements in both food quality and living conditions accorded laborers.
Following last year's riot, which led to the uncovering of a corruption scandal involving a former close aide of President Chen Shui-bian (
KRTC officials said that priority would be given to finding laborers to work on the line between Kaohsiung International Airport and a downtown department store, which is scheduled to open in October.
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Heat advisories were in effect for nine administrative regions yesterday afternoon as warm southwesterly winds pushed temperatures above 38°C in parts of southern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 3:30pm yesterday, Tainan’s Yujing District (玉井) had recorded the day’s highest temperature of 39.7°C, though the measurement will not be included in Taiwan’s official heat records since Yujing is an automatic rather than manually operated weather station, the CWA said. Highs recorded in other areas were 38.7°C in Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門), 38.2°C in Chiayi City and 38.1°C in Pingtung’s Sandimen Township (三地門), CWA data showed. The spell of scorching