Premier William Lai (賴清德) is next week to announce the government’s policies for countering the nation’s low birth rate and low salaries, and to discuss its immigration policy, an anonymous source said yesterday.
He is tomorrow to announce an expansion of the child-rearing subsidy — a monthly program that gives NT$2,500 to families with children up to age two — with the program to include an additional 90,000 families, the source said.
Under the current program, only families that pay less than 20 percent of their income in taxes and have one unemployed parent are eligible to receive the subsidy.
Under the expanded program, dual-income and single-parent families that have children looked after by a grandparent or another family member and have not received childcare subsidies would be eligible, the source said.
Given the nation’s financial state, families who pay more than 20 percent of their income in taxes would remain ineligible, they added.
Together with the government’s financial agencies, Minister Without Portfolio Lin Wan-i (林萬億) is tomorrow to calculate the precise number of people who would benefit from the child-rearing subsidy and the amount of money that the program would require, they said.
While eligible families would still receive NT$2,500 per month for each of their first two children, the monthly subsidy for the third child might be raised to NT$3,500, the source said, adding that details are to be confirmed tomorrow.
Taking Tainan’s policy of subsidizing its residents’ private preschool fees by NT$20,000 to NT$70,000 per year as a reference, the government is reportedly planning on providing various subsidy amounts to families with children enrolled in private preschools, depending on the cost of living for different areas, they said.
It is also planning to raise the monthly starting salary of teachers at private preschools who want to be integrated into the public childcare system to NT$29,000, they said.
To raise salaries, the government is to suggest an increase in the minimum hourly wage — currently NT$140 — to the Ministry of Labor, the source said, adding that an estimated 400,000 part-time workers would benefit from a raise.
The ministry is in charge of deciding whether to raise the wage and by how much, they added.
As the monthly minimum wage — currently NT$22,000 — is too controversial, the government will not make further adjustments for now, the source said.
The government also plans to increase hourly wages for part-time teachers at public and private universities, and substitute teachers at elementary and junior-high schools, the source said.
Lai is also to announce a new economic immigration draft act, which could give middle and high-skilled foreign workers more time to apply for permanent residency, the source said, adding that the draft is expected to be reviewed at the next legislative session.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
RSS