The Council of Labor Affairs yesterday said it was in favor of extending the maximum number of years foreign workers can work in Taiwan, adding that such a move would not have an impact on job opportunities for Taiwanese.
Under the Employment Services Act (就業服務法), a foreign worker must be away from Taiwan at least one day every three years and can only remain in Taiwan for a maximum of nine years.
The council said it supported proposed changes to the act that would extend the duration of foreign workers’ stay to 12 years, because doing so would benefit families who hire foreign caregivers by not forcing them to look for another caregiver when the nine years are up.
The extension would have no adverse impact on job -opportunities for Taiwanese, said Liao Wei-jen (廖為仁), the deputy director of the council’s Bureau of Employment and Vocational Training, which oversees applications by businesses to hire foreign labor.
“When a foreign worker has worked nine years, the employer has to apply to hire a replacement. Consequently, the total number of foreign workers allowed in the country would not change,” he said.
The council said one of the principal objectives of the proposed change was to decrease the frequency of foreign industrial workers and stay-at-home caregivers fleeing the workplace to become undocumented workers.
The number of foreign workers who are missing, performing undocumented work or are on the run has risen in recent years. A recent report by the Control Yuan showed that the whereabouts of 32,927 foreign workers, out of a total of 374,126, were unknown.
Council officials said the rising number of runaway foreign workers could create problems because undocumented workers have no protections when their rights are not respected and they have no health or labor insurance.
Legislators were divided over whether foreign caregivers should be allowed to stay longer in Taiwan, a proposal that has also received the support of Red Cross Society of the Republic of China head C. V. Chen (陳長文).
Chen, whose son is almost completely blind and has serious physical disabilities, was quoted by the Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday as saying that he was worried about the impact on his son now that his son’s Philippine caregiver’s duration of stay was set to expire in May.
The caregiver, who has taken care of his son around the clock for years, could be even more important to his son than he is, Chen said.
“The government should consider amending the law as long as [the relaxation] will bring more benefits than harm to the nation,” he said.
Approached for comment, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) said she proposed the amendment to the act to lessen the burden on families who need long-term care.
“Employers are forced to hire new foreign workers after the duration of stay of their foreign caregivers has expired … this can bring tremendous pressure and instability to families,” Cheng said.
At a different setting, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) said he supported the plan to extend the duration of stay for foreign caregivers and called on the public to show understanding for families who require such services.
However, KMT Legislator Chao Li-yun (趙麗雲) expressed concerns about the rights of local workers, saying the government should focus on establishing a national long-term care program and train more local caregivers rather than relying on foreign caregivers.
Legislators are scheduled to negotiate Cheng’s proposal today.
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