Taiwan and the Philippines on Monday negotiated several key issues regarding the welfare of Philippine workers in the nation, but agreed on a limited number of topics.
The annual Taiwan-Philippines Joint Labor Conference was hosted in Taipei this year.
Now in its eighth year, the conference covered issues such as outstanding medical expenses, fishery worker hiring fees, jobs at dairy farms and caregiver training.
The Philippines agreed to set up contact channels in northern, central and southern Taiwan so that its representative office can help local authorities resolve any outstanding medical expenses incurred by Philippine workers, including those who have absconded from their workplaces, the Ministry of Labor said.
The countries agreed to continue discussing issues related to fees incurred in the hiring of Philippine fishery workers to protect the interests of employers and employees, the ministry said.
The fees in question include brokerage fees, which the Philippines has suggested should be covered by Taiwanese employers instead of workers.
Regarding an announcement earlier this year that the government would allow local dairy farms to hire migrant workers, the ministry said the two sides would continue to hold talks to iron out the details so that Filipinos can work in the sector.
The two sides also discussed the training Philippine caregivers have to receive before arriving in Taiwan.
The Philippines agreed to organize a tour of the training courses for the Taiwanese delegation at next year’s conference in Manila.
The ministry said it would continue to improve work-related safety measures to guarantee the welfare of Philippine workers.
The meeting was led by the ministry and included representatives from the Philippine Department of Labor and Employment, and the Manila Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei.
Officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Council of Agriculture and National Immigration Agency also took part.
According to labor ministry statistics, 156,248 Philippine migrant workers were in Taiwan as of the end of last month.
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
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
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
RSS