The hospitality sector and ports could soon apply to hire migrant workers, provided they increase the monthly salary of their lowest-paid domestic workers by NT$2,000 (US$65.30) for every foreign worker hired, according to new migrant worker policies to be finalized at a Cabinet meeting today.
The 50 percent cap on the proportion of migrant workers hired would remain in place.
The policies are expected to be implemented next year, and are designed to protect the jobs and livelihoods of domestic workers.
Photo: Tsai Yun-jung, Taipei Times
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) in a meeting with a manufacturers’ association on Oct. 16 said the government would shortly be releasing a comprehensive national workforce review.
The new policies would increase the number of migrant workers entering Taiwan, and shorten the processing time for applications to support the needs of businesses and families, he said.
No further information has been released regarding foreign domestic workers after President William Lai (賴清德) last month pledged to allow families with at least one child up to age 12 apply for a foreign domestic helper.
Currently, the policy is limited to families with two children younger than six.
The proposal is reportedly still being reviewed and would not be included in the new policy plan.
As of the end of August, Taiwan had 854,000 migrant workers, which might increase by 10,000 to 20,000 once hiring regulations are relaxed for hotels and ports.
Moreover, the Ministry of Labor is to allocate more than NT$80 million next year to establish a foreign worker recruitment center, which would send personnel abroad to recruit and train foreign technical workers.
The program would begin in the Philippines before expanding to Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand, the ministry said.
It aims to ensure direct recruitment to prevent the exploitation of migrant workers, it added.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
Taiwan next year plans to launch its first nationwide census on elderly people living independently to identify the estimated 700,000 seniors to strengthen community-based healthcare and long-term care services, the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) said yesterday. Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said on the sidelines of a healthcare seminar that the nation’s rapidly aging population and declining birthrate have made the issue of elderly people living alone increasingly pressing. The survey, to be jointly conducted by the MOHW and the Ministry of the Interior, aims to establish baseline data and better allocate care resources, he
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