The Council of Agriculture (COA) yesterday invited farmers and experts to a forum on addressing the nation’s shortage of agricultural workers, at which attendees expressed mixed views on the introduction of foreign workers on farms.
The nation’s agricultural sector is short 267,000 temporary workers and 15,000 regular workers, with farms in central and southern regions demanding more personnel, COA Deputy Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) told the forum at National Taiwan University (NTU) in Taipei.
To ease the labor shortage, the council has implemented many plans, including introducing technicians and unemployed locals to help on farms and encouraging foreign students to seek part-time farm jobs on weekends, he said.
As for whether the nation should allow foreign workers on farms, Chen said it is an issue that deserves public discussion.
NTU Department of Agricultural Economics professor Chang Hung-hao (張宏浩) objected to introducing foreign agricultural workers, saying that it would temporarily alleviate the labor shortage, but other problems, such as personnel management and language barriers, would ensue.
Most farms lack temporary workers during harvest seasons, but current regulations do not allow foreign workers to freely change employers, he said.
Although introducing foreign workers would not be a cure-all for the labor shortage, “the door must be opened,” Dairy Farmer Association chairman Hung Chang-chin (洪長進) said.
The nation’s dairy industry — which is more labor-intensive than the poultry and pig farming industries — lacks a significant number of regular workers, a major hurdle to the industry’s growth, Hung said.
The council’s promotion of temporary workers has helped little, because dairy farmers need steady and skilled personnel who can work in the evening, instead of workers who only want to have fun, he said.
The council might consider launching trial programs to introduce foreign workers on dairy farms, he added.
The Ministry of Labor currently allows foreigners to work in only two agricultural industries: butchery and fishing, Workforce Development Agency senior specialist Chuang Kuo-liang (莊國良) said.
If the council plans to introduce foreign labor on farms, it should increase the salary standards for local workers and protect their work rights, he said.
As evidenced by the introduction of foreign caregivers about two decades ago, ushering in foreign workers on farms would not only affect the agricultural sector, but the whole of society, Chuang said, calling on those who support the plan to carefully examine it.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
MORE NEEDED: Recall drives against legislators in Miaoli’s two districts and Hsinchu’s second district were still a few thousand signatures short of the second-stage threshold Campaigners aiming to recall Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday said they expect success in 30 out of 35 districts where drives have passed the second-stage threshold, which would mark a record number of recall votes held at once. Hsinchu County recall campaigners yesterday announced that they reached the second-stage threshold in the recall effort against Legislator Lin Szu-ming (林思銘). A total of 26,414 signatures have been gathered over the past two months, surpassing the 10 percent threshold of 23,287 in Hsinchu County’s second electoral district, chief campaigner Hsieh Ting-ting (謝婷婷) said. “Our target is to gather an additional 1,500 signatures to reach
RSS