The Indonesian government has proposed that Taiwanese employers pay six types of costs when hiring migrant workers from the country to relieve the workers of most of the burden they are currently forced to bear, the Ministry of Labor said on Thursday.
The proposal is seen as a compromise after a meeting between the two sides. The ministry has rejected a previous proposal that Taiwanese employers pay 11 types of fees.
The six types of fees include roundtrip airfares, visas costs, labor brokerage fees, verification fees for employment contracts, and accommodation fees for the workers ahead of leaving Indonesia.
The costs per worker would total about NT$23,700, the ministry said, citing an estimate by the Indonesian government.
Other fees would be paid by the workers, including costs for passport processing, COVID-19 testing, health checks and criminal record certificates, Deputy Minister of Labor Wang An-pang (王安邦) said, adding that the Indonesian government also proposed to pay some of the placement costs.
The Indonesian Ministry of Manpower said in a statement that the proposed policy would protect migrant workers from excessive fees.
The Indonesian ministry would review the regulations and hold further discussions with relevant agencies and brokers, it said.
Taiwan and Indonesia have been at odds over a regulation Jakarta introduced in July last year that exempts certain migrant workers from placement fees and requires employers to pay the costs. The policy, which applies to Taiwan, Malaysia, Japan, Hong Kong and 10 other countries, was initially to be implemented in January, but was postponed to July.
Indonesia initially said that it had reached a consensus with Taiwan on the issue, a claim that the Ministry of Labor denies, saying that Jakarta unilaterally drafted the policy.
The two sides have also been also at odds over Taiwan suspending the entry of Indonesian migrant workers from Dec. 4 last year, citing unreliable COVID-19 testing in the Southeast Asian nation.
The two sides later that month held a virtual meeting, but could not resolve the disputes. Two more meetings were canceled by the Indonesian government.
Thursday’s virtual meeting was attended by Ministry of Labor officials and Benny Rhamdani, head of the Agency for the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers.
Wang said that employers previously paid two of the six types of fees proposed by the Indonesian side: contract verification fees and airfares.
The Ministry of Labor would focus on the four remaining fees in future discussions, Wang said.
Due to time constraints, it only raised questions on accommodation fees during the meeting, he added.
The ministry does not think this part of the proposal is reasonable, as Jakarta did not define a standard for the quality and duration of accommodation, he said.
Further details would be discussed through written communications, Wang said.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
RSS