Local township offices in central Taiwan have been flooded with residents applying for "jobs" in the past two days, after the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) set up a subsidy project for laborers in the disaster areas caused by the 921 earthquake.
The plan, called "jobs in exchange for relief (
Under the plan, residents are encouraged to take up the cleaning and reconstruction work in their localities and will be paid a monthly salary of NT$15,840, the legal minimum wage.
But under this special earthquake relief plan, there are no job vacancies to be filled.
Unemployed residents can apply for the subsidy doing the "job" of rehabilitating their own houses and then receiving payment from the government.
Many residents in the stricken areas have already filed applications.
Although the policy was welcomed by residents, some local politicians worry that it might become a relief payment offering little help in local reconstruction work.
According to the CLA, anyone who has been employed for more than three months during the past three years can apply for work under the plan. His or her family members between the ages of 15 to 65 can also receive the monthly subsidy. Each household can have up to four people apply for the subsidy.
The CLA's chairman, Chan Huo-sheng (詹火生), said applicants must currently be unemployed and have had their houses damaged as a result of the earthquake.
Those who work outside the disaster areas, public servants, and students are not qualified. Once approved as qualified applicants, Chan said, township offices will allocate them to help with cleaning and reconstructing public facilities around the community.
The plan will continue until the end of December. According the CLA's estimate, a household with four applicants would receive more than NT$200,000 by the end of this year.
However, some have objected to the lack of restrictions on the qualifications for the project.
"I disapprove of this plan," said Chen Hsi-wu (陳錫梧), mayor of Luku Township in Nantou County.
Chen said he doubted that cleaning the mess in one's own house can be considered work, and said the payment should be called a relief payment, and not a salary.
"This is the worst example of relief measures offered," he said.
Chen said such a project should assign laborers to work at certain public units that need manpower for reconstruction.
Tsai Huang-lang (蔡煌瑯), a DPP legislator from Nantou County said the intention of the project was good, but it needed more elaboration. Local rescue and relief centers should coordinate all the reconstruction work, he said.
In another area hit hard by the 921 earthquake, Tungshih township (
"We have already recruited manpower to clean up the portable toilets and streets, but for other reconstruction work, we're still looking for people with expertise," said Chang Ching-hu (張錦湖), mayor of Tungshih township.
Apart from the subsidy plan, the CLA offers a reduction on labor insurance payment and more public housing units to homeless laborers.
The council has set up 25 local service stations to facilitate implementation of these measures.
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