The Ministry of Labor has agreed to support a proposal to increase the number of migrant workers in the agricultural sector from 6,000 to 12,000, Council of Agriculture (COA) Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) said at a young farmers’ event in Hualien on Saturday.
During the event, which was held for the first time in two years after the COVID-19 pandemic, farmers from 17 young farmers’ associations asked about programs to improve the industry and address its labor shortages.
Difficulty finding workers is a nationwide problem, Chen said, adding that agricultural experts have been working to come up with solutions to improve labor within the sector.
Photo: CNA
Increasing the number of migrant workers allocated to the agricultural sector could relieve the shortage, Chen said, adding that the Ministry of Labor on March 6 agreed to a proposal by the COA to increase the number of foreign workers allowed to work in the industry from 6,000 to 12,000.
Chen did not disclose how long the proposal would need to be discussed by the government before receiving approval.
The government has increased the COA’s budget by allocating an annual subsidy of NT$2.3 billion (US$75.3 million) for agricultural machinery, he said.
Asked about the difficulties faced by young farmers in finding new land to increase the scale of their operations, Chen said that a proposed amendment to the Farmer Health Insurance Act (農民健康保險條例) passed a third reading at the Legislative Yuan and is expected to come into effect on June 1.
The amendment would encourage older farmers to release some land to the younger generation by ensuring their insurance benefits are not reduced by the leasing or sale of land, he said.
A study published by online booking platform Expedia revealed searches for travel to Taipei have ballooned 2,786 percent following the lifting of COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions due to the city being a “designation dupe” for Seoul. The TikTok trend for duping — referring to substituting a designation for a more inexpensive alternative — helped propel interest in Taipei, it said in a consumer survey titled “Unpack ‘24,” which was conducted from September to October in 14 countries. Location dupes are “every bit as delightful as the tried-and-true places travelers love,” Expedia trend tracker Melanie Fish said of the year’s popular alternatives, which
SAFETY IN REGULATION: The proposal states that Chiayi should assess whether it is viable to establish such a district and draft rules to protect clients and sex workers The Chiayi City Council passed a motion yesterday to assess the viability of establishing a regulated red-light district. The council yesterday held its last session of the year, at which its fiscal 2024 budget was approved, along with 61 other proposals. The proposal to assess the viability of establishing a red-light district was put forward by independent Chiayi City Councilor Molly Yen (顏色不分藍綠支持性專區顏色田慎節). The proposal cited 2011 amendments to the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法), which stipulate that city and county governments can pass autonomous regulations on the sex trade to manage the industry and guarantee industry workers’ rights. A ban on the
CHINA illness surge: Of 88 travelers from China, Hong Kong and Macau with respiratory symptoms who were encouraged to get tested upon arrival, 70.6% had the flu Two hundred and sixty people with COVID-19 were hospitalized and 31 deaths related to the virus were reported last week — the highest numbers in four weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, adding that cases are expected to peak next month. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said that of the 260 people hospitalized last week with moderate to severe COVID-19, 98 percent had not received the Omicron XBB.1.5-adapted COVID-19 vaccine. Among the people hospitalized this year, 78 percent were aged 65 or older, while most of the those who were hospitalized or died have or had
A small-scale protest that called on the government to cancel its plan to welcome Indian migrant workers in a bid to tackle Taiwan’s labor shortage was held in Taipei yesterday. During the protest, comprised of a few dozen people staged in front of the Presidential Office on Ketagalan Boulevard, the protest’s chief initiator, a woman identified only as “Yuna” said they wanted the central government to reconsider allowing migrant workers from India to enter Taiwan. Most people in Taiwan had little knowledge about the potential plan to allow in Indian migrant workers until a report in the media last month, she
RSS