Nearly 70 percent of foreigners working as domestic helpers and caregivers in the nation earn a monthly salary of just NT$18,000 — below the current minimum wage of NT$19,273 — and do not get a single day off the entire year, a survey by the Ministry of Labor showed.
The results released earlier this week showed that 68 percent, or 148,000 foreign workers — many of whom come from Indonesia and the Philippines — work almost without leave.
About 30 percent of workers interviewed said they get 1.1 days off per month on average, according to a June survey, the first government poll of foreign workers since Taiwan opened to migrant workers more than two decades ago.
A total of 3,390 domestic helpers and 4,451 industry workers were interviewed for the survey.
It found that industry and factory workers earn higher pay on average at NT$25,000, but have to clock in 41 hours of extra work per month on top of their regular working hours of 84 hours every two weeks.
Of the industry workers, 94 percent said they had paid their way into Taiwan, with 30 percent shelling out more than NT$90,000 to gain employment at a Taiwanese factory, while 26 percent forked out between NT$50,000 and NT$70,000.
Of the workers who paid broker fees, more than 60 percent said they had to borrow money to cover the cost of coming to work here.
Ministry officials said they are mulling a “balanced” policy to address the interests of both employers and employees, one that may include a minimum pay for domestic helpers and set rules on how to calculate a foreign worker’s lodging fees.
Usually, employers compensate domestic workers for extra work on a daily basis.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
RSS