Negotiations with Myanmar on introducing Burmese nationals as agricultural and industrial workers could be finalized within two months, the Ministry of Labor said yesterday.
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are also seen as potential new sources of labor to mitigate an expected shortfall of migrant workers, Workforce Development Agency director Liu Chia-chun (劉佳鈞) said.
Liu’s remarks came in response to Indonesia’s decision last month to gradually bar would-be household caretakers from working in Taiwan beginning in 2017.
The ministry plans to soon introduce between 100 and 200 Burmese workers “on a trial basis” as soon as late next month or early May, Liu said, adding that the ministry would consider increasing the number if initial attempts are successful.
While the initial plans would focus on manufacturing and agricultural workers, introducing household caregivers from Myanmar would also be a likely option in the near future, Liu said.
Liu said he was confident about introducing more Burmese workers, as Burmese share “a similar religion” and lifestyle with Taiwanese.
With a decade-long ban on Vietnamese household caretakers set to end soon, they are likely to fill the immediate gap left by Indonesian caretakers in the short run, ministry officials said.
Migrant rights activist Chen Su-hsiang (陳素香), the president of the Taiwan International Workers’ Association, asked whether the government was ready to accommodate migrant workers from Myanmar.
A large number of translators fluent in Burmese would be required, Chen said, as local labor departments around the nation only provide consulting services for migrant workers in four languages: Thai, Vietnamese, Tagalog and Bahasa Indonesia.
The ministry would also need to translate legal documents and labor regulations into Burmese to fully protect the rights of migrant workers from Myanmar, she added.
“I think the Ministry of Labor is exchanging blows with the Indonesian government,” Chen said.
“It is deeply regretful that when Indonesia demands that Indonesian caretakers be covered under minimum wage regulations, our ministry responds by searching for slave labor from another nation,” she added.
Last year, the Council of Agriculture proposed plans to introduce migrant workers to mitigate labor shortages in several agricultural sectors, including animal husbandry, livestock butchery, mushroom growing and the tea industry.
Foreign blue-collar workers are currently limited to employment as household caregivers and industrial and maritime workers, while plans to introduce foreign farm labor have drawn criticism from both labor amd farming rights groups.
Fast food chain McDonald's is to raise prices by up to NT$5 on some products at its restaurants across Taiwan, starting on Wednesday next week, the company announced today. The prices of all extra value meals and sharing boxes are to increase by NT$5, while breakfast combos and creamy corn soup would go up by NT$3, the company said in a statement. The price of the main items of those meals, if ordered individually, would remain the same. Meanwhile, the price of a medium-sized lemon iced tea and hot cappuccino would rise by NT$3, extra dipping sauces for chicken nuggets would go up
FUKUOKA SITUATION: Japanese media reported that the pathogen is expected to be identified by the summer, while the CDC downplayed the idea that it was hMPV A “mysterious cold-like illness” reported in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture does not seem to be a new disease, but Japanese authorities have been asked about the situation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The Fukuoka Prefectural Medical Association on Wednesday told a news conference that a “mystery cold” that has become a hot topic on social media is “highly likely to be caused by some kind of viral infection,” Japan’s KBC News reported. “Many people are experiencing symptoms starting with a sore throat, followed by a runny nose, phlegm and a severe cough,” KBC News reported, citing association officials. Health authorities are
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) arrived in Taiwan yesterday ahead of upcoming AI and technology events, saying he plans to meet with clients and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) during his visit. After landing at Taipei Songshan Airport, Huang posed for photos with fans and handed out Yakult drinks to reporters and supporters waiting at the scene, saying he has “a lot to do” during the trip. Asked about reports that Nvidia’s planned headquarters site in Taipei’s Beitou Shilin Technology Park could break ground on May 27, Huang said that if the company holds an event, he would
Carrefour Taiwan is to begin using a new name from the start of July, but it cannot divulge the name until then, the chairman of the supermarket chain's parent company said today. President Chain Store Co chairman Lo Chih-hsien (羅智先) was asked by reporters after a shareholders' meeting to confirm whether the company has settled on a new name for the supermarket brand. In March, the government-registered name of two Carrefour Taiwan branches was quietly changed to "Le Chia Kang" (樂家康) in Chinese, raising speculation that has been selected as the name. Lo said that because of local regulations and contractual obligations, the
RSS