The Ministry of Labor (MOL) on Wednesday hosted a meeting of labor groups and employment agencies to resolve their differences in opinion regarding service fees for migrant workers who want to renew their contracts after three years in Taiwan.
Labor brokers are not allowed to charge migrant workers another placement fee if they wish to renew their contracts after three years of employment, the ministry said.
That practice was banned in an amendment to the Employment Service Act (就業服務法) in 2016, which also lifted the requirement for blue-collar foreign workers to leave the country after three years.
However, many labor brokers in Taiwan have been urging the government to reconsider, citing rising operating costs as a major factor.
Brokers wanted the ban on a second placement fee revoked because of the time and costs involved in the contract renewal process, Workforce Development Agency Director-General Huang Chiu-kuei (黃秋桂) said after the meeting.
According to the Migrant Empowerment Network in Taiwan (MENT), foreigners seeking to renew their contracts in Taiwan are typically charged a service fee of NT$20,000 to NT$100,000 by labor agencies, even though such fees are banned if a worker has completed a previous contract or is renewing their contract with their current employer.
It is commonplace for brokers in Taiwan to charge the fee, known by migrant workers as “job-buying fees,” especially following the 2016 amendment to the Employment Service Act, MENT said.
The illegal practice is so pervasive that agencies know exactly how to avoid getting caught, MENT said, adding that it has brought up the issue with the ministry on many occasions, but nothing has been done.
Taiwan International Workers’ Association member Chen Hsiu-lien (陳秀蓮) said that brokers who complain about rising operating costs should disclose to the public the exorbitant fees they charge employers and migrant workers.
The ministry said it would continue its efforts to help bridge the two groups’ differences.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is aware that Beijing’s treatment of Hong Kong has weakened any possible sentiment for a “one country, two systems” arrangement for Taiwan, and has instructed Chinese Communist Party (CCP) politburo member Wang Huning (王滬寧) to develop new ways of defining cross-strait relations, Japanese news magazine Nikkei Asia reported on Thursday. A former professor of international politics at Fu Dan University, Wang is expected to develop a dialogue that could serve as the foundation for cross-strait unification, and Xi plans to use the framework to support a fourth term as president, Nikkei Asia quoted an anonymous source
LUCKY DATE: The man picked the 10th ‘Super Red Envelope’ in a lottery store in Taoyuan’s Jhongli because he broke up with his girlfriend on Jan. 10 A man who recently broke up with his girlfriend won a NT$1 million (US$32,929) prize in the “NT$20 million Super Red Envelope” lottery after picking a card based on the date of their breakup, Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The man, in his 20s, bought the 10th ticket at a lottery store in Taoyuan’s Jhongli District (中壢), because he broke up with his girlfriend on Jan. 10, the store owner told the lottery company. The “Super Red Envelope” lottery was a limited offering by the company during the Lunar New Year holiday, which ended yesterday. The cards, which cost NT$2,000 each, came with
TOURISM BOOST: The transportation system could help attract more visitors to the area, as the line is to connect multiple cultural sites, a city councilor said Residents in New Taipei City’s Ankeng District (安坑) said the local light rail system might have a positive influence, but raised questions about its practicality. The Ankeng light rail system, which is to commence operations after the Lunar New Year holiday, would cut travel time for commuters from Ankeng to downtown Taipei or New Taipei City by 15 to 20 minutes, the city government said. According to the initial plan, there would be one train every 15 minutes during peak time and additional interval trains would run between the densely populated Ankang Station (安康) and Shisizhang Station (十 四張). To encourage people to
CHAMPION TREES: The team used light detection and ranging imaging to locate the tree, and found that it measured a height of 84.1m and had a girth of 8.5m A team committed to finding the tallest trees in the nation yesterday said that an 84.1m tall Taiwania cryptomerioides tree had been named the tallest tree in Taiwan and East Asia. The Taiwan Champion Trees, a team consisting of researchers from the Council of Agriculture’s Taiwan Forestry Research Institute and National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), in June last year used light detection and ranging (LiDAR) imaging to find the giant tree, numbered 55214, upstream of the Daan River (大安溪). A 20-member expedition team led by Rebecca Hsu (徐嘉君), an assistant researcher at the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute, set out to find the