The Ministry of the Interior has approved applications from construction firms to hire more than 9,000 migrant workers to help address labor shortages, the National Land Management Agency said on Monday.
After reviewing applications received from Aug. 1, the ministry approved 570 requests to hire 9,048 migrant workers for the construction industry in the first phase of the review process, the agency said in a statement.
The Ministry of Labor in June said it would allow for the employment of up to 15,000 migrant workers for construction.
Photo: CNA
Originally, the Ministry of the Interior intended to allow 8,000 migrant workers in the first round, but due to high demand, raised the limit, the agency said.
The next phase would allow for fewer than 6,000 migrant workers to meet the 15,000 limit, it said.
To be eligible to hire migrant workers under the policy, integrated, dedicated and civil engineering construction firms must have a track record of undertaking projects valued at least 10 times their paid-in capital annually in the previous three years, it said.
Due to strong demand from the local construction industry, an approved “grade A” integrated construction firm applicant with paid-in capital of NT$22.5 million (US$698,150) or higher, is permitted to hire up to 90 percent of the number of workers requested in its application, as large companies have alternative channels to recruit migrant workers, the agency said.
Such large integrated construction firms are also able to apply to recruit migrant workers on a case-by-case basis, as long as they are for public work projects valued at NT$100 million or higher and if the construction would last for 18 months or longer, it added.
Approved smaller construction firms, which have no alternative channel to hire migrant workers, are allowed to hire as many migrant workers as requested in their applications, it said.
Previously, the government had restricted the employment of migrant construction workers to projects valued at no less than NT$100 million or urban renewal projects of at least NT$200 million.
Integrated and dedicated construction firms must hire a minimum of 10 local workers, while civil engineering contractors must employ at least five local workers to qualify under the new policy, the labor ministry said.
Additionally, the proportion of migrant workers in their workforce is capped at 30 percent, with an option to increase it to 40 percent by paying an additional employment security fee to protect local workers, it said.
The interior ministry said it would continue to track laborers in the construction industry and regularly review its migrant worker hiring policy, with the goal of advancing the industry’s development and sustainability.
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