Migrant workers employed in manufacturing and construction sectors last year earned NT$32,303 per month on average, while domestic caregivers earned NT$21,000, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) said yesterday.
Average migrant worker wages in the manufacturing and construction sectors rose NT$1,762, or 5.8 percent, from a year earlier, the ministry said, citing a survey of employers of industrial workers and domestic caregivers conducted in July and August last year.
The figures represent a 5.21 percent increase in the minimum wage for migrant workers, to NT$25,250 a month, the ministry said.
Photo: CNA
Migrant workers in the industrial sector last year earned an average regular salary of NT$26,066 a month, up 5.9 percent from 2021, while overtime pay averaged NT$5,619 a month, up 4.1 percent annually.
About 42 percent of the surveyed manufacturers applied to hire migrant workers last year, while 24 percent said they did not fill their quota for migrant workers, due mainly to the COVID-19 pandemic and cost considerations, the ministry said.
Last year, average working hours for industrial migrant workers fell one hour per month from a year earlier to 203.1 hours, with regular working hours averaging 167.6 and overtime working hours averaging 35.5, down 0.1 hours and 0.9 hours respectively, the ministry said.
The survey, which collected 4,573 valid questionnaires from employers in the manufacturing and construction sectors, found that 34.7 percent of industrial sector employers had trouble managing migrant workers.
The biggest issue was difficulty communicating due to language barriers, the ministry said.
Migrant caregivers, who are not covered by the nation’s minimum wage laws, earned an average of NT$20,533 per month last year, up 1.6 percent from a year earlier, the ministry said, citing 4,007 valid questionnaires collected from employers of migrant caregivers.
That included regular salary of NT$17,961, up 2.3 percent from a year earlier, and overtime pay of NT$2,135 per month, down NT$47 year-on-year, the ministry said.
Migrant caregivers worked an average of 10 hours per day, while 49.4 percent of surveyed employers said their caregivers took days off during holidays.
Employers whose caregivers did not take days off said it was because the caregivers wanted to earn more overtime pay, the ministry said.
When their caregivers took days off, 74 percent of employers resorted to using alternatives, which mostly involved family members taking over the caregivers’ duties, the survey found.
About 21 percent of the employers said they experienced problems with their migrant employees, citing difficulty communicating and workers spending too much time on their phones.
As of the end of November, Taiwan had 505,959 industrial migrant workers and 201,406 migrant domestic caregivers, the ministry said.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
Passengers on Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) will be required to use headphones and make phone calls in gangways under new “quiet travel” rules starting Sept. 22. THSR Chairman Shih Che (史哲) told media that THSR will run a three-month promotional campaign to ensure widespread adoption of the new rules. Those repeatedly ignoring the guidance face the potential termination of their transport contract, which can result in them getting escorted off the train, according to THSR. Shih shared his hope to cultivate an environment conducive to rest and reading for the train’s passengers, stating that these changes aim to “promote self-discipline” among passengers
RSS