Following a recent string of mass protests, Taipei is set to be the scene of another huge demonstration tomorrow being organized in observance of International Workers’ Day and to demand that the government address the problem of low wages and scrap the dispatch worker system.
Tens of thousands of workers from around the nation are expected to hit the streets to attend a rally being organized under the theme of “opposing low wages and banning dispatching of workers” by dozens of labor groups, industrial unions and labor union federations.
During the protest, a march is to be led by a squad of atypical workers to highlight one of the organizers’ main appeals for the government to draft legislation prohibiting the use of dispatched workers, Taipei City Confederation of Trade Unions secretary-general Chiang Wan-chin (蔣萬金) said yesterday.
Chiang, who is to be in charge of the protest, said the government has paid no attention to the deterioration of wages and working conditions affecting many employees across most sectors nationwide, while the rapid increase in the number of dispatched workers and those employed for limited terms has exacerbated the stagnant salary problem.
Since President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) took office, the unemployment rate among those aged 20 to 24 has risen to 13.75 percent, the second-highest level in the nation’s history, while the unemployment rate for college graduates consistently stands above 5 percent.
Despite the persistently high rate of youth unemployment, sources say that the government is planning to relax labor rules in an attempt to encourage children of overseas ethnic Chinese — defined as Chinese born abroad and studying at Taiwanese colleges and known commonly as qiaosheng (僑生) — and other foreign college students in Taiwan to stay and work in the country after graduating.
Currently the average monthly salary for qiaosheng and other foreign students who remain in Taiwan to work after finishing their studies must be least NT$37,619 and they are not required to have two years’ work experience to be employed in Taiwan.
Before these rules were adopted in June 2012, qiaosheng and other foreign students could only take a job with a starting salary of NT$47,971 and had to have least two years of work experience to be eligible to stay in Taiwan after graduating.
Sources have said that the Ministry of Labor Affairs is mulling removing the salary threshold and implementing the policy in June to benefit fresh graduates.
However, analysts say the rumored policy would have a crowding-out effect on Taiwanese youth by pushing down new graduates’ average monthly wages, which are already as low as NT$22,000, and could be a prelude to opening up the labor market fully to Chinese students in Taiwan, analysts had said.
According to the ministry, about 5,000 qiaosheng and other foreign students enroll at colleges or universities in Taiwan every year. After the rules on their employment were relaxed in 2012, about 1,274 of these students stayed in the nation after graduating, 36 percent of which came from Malaysia, 10 percent from Indonesia, 5 percent from the US and 3 percent from Japan, it added.
The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association has cautioned Japanese travelers to be vigilant against pickpockets at several popular tourist spots in Taiwan, including Taipei’s night markets, the Yongkang Street area, Zhongshan MRT Station, and Jiufen (九份) in New Taipei City. The advisory, titled “Recent Development of Concerns,” was posted on the association’s Web site under its safety and emergency report section. It urges travelers to keep backpacks fully zipped and carried in front, with valuables placed at the bottom of the bag. Visitors are advised to be especially mindful of their belongings when taking photos or speaking on the phone, avoid storing wallets and
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