The Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) on Tuesday said it “warmly welcomes” Taiwan’s plan to set up its first cross-border recruitment center in the Philippines to enable Taiwanese employers to directly hire Philippine migrant workers.
“This initiative reflects the growing partnership between the Philippines and Taiwan and marks an important step toward more ethical, transparent and worker-centered recruitment,” office Chairwoman and Resident Representative Corazon Avecilla-Padiernos said in a statement.
MECO serves as the Philippines’ de facto embassy in Taiwan in the absence of official diplomatic ties.
Photo: Taipei Times
The Ministry of Labor on Friday last week said that the new center is to open in the first quarter of this year and circumvent the labor brokerage system that has been used to date.
NEW SYSTEM
Under the new system, expenses for flight tickets, health checkups and visas for migrant workers would in principle be paid by Taiwanese employers rather than workers, Workforce Development Agency Director-General Lydia Huang (黃齡玉) said.
Padiernos highlighted the direct hiring mechanism and the shift of key costs to Taiwanese employers, saying that the measures could “significantly reduce the financial burden on Filipino workers and help address abusive brokerage practices.”
Most migrant workers in Taiwan are recruited through brokers, and many workers pay pre-employment expenses to brokers in their home countries.
Brokers in Taiwan are then permitted to charge them monthly service fees capped at NT$1,800 in the first year after arrival, NT$1,700 in the second year and NT$1,500 from the third year onward.
WORKERS’ RIGHTS
The office would work closely with the Philippine Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and Department of Migrant Workers, as well as agencies in Taiwan, “to help ensure that the new system genuinely protects the rights and welfare of Filipino workers, while also responding to Taiwan’s legitimate labor needs,” Padiernos said.
Although the recruitment center has yet to open, Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Friday last week said that the ministry has a special task force in place to take applications for workers from Taiwanese employers starting today.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
Snow fell on Yushan (Jade Mountain, 玉山) yesterday morning as a continental cold air mass sent temperatures below freezing on Taiwan’s tallest peak, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Snowflakes were seen on Yushan’s north peak from 6:28am to 6:38am, but they did not fully cover the ground and no accumulation was recorded, the CWA said. As of 7:42am, the lowest temperature recorded across Taiwan was minus-5.5°C at Yushan’s Fengkou observatory and minus-4.7°C at the Yushan observatory, CWA data showed. On Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County, a low of 1.3°C was recorded at 6:39pm, when ice pellets fell at Songsyue Lodge (松雪樓), a
NO SHAME IN RETREAT: Hikers should consider turning back if the weather turns bad or if they do not have sufficient equipment, the Taroko park headquarters said Two people died of hypothermia over the weekend while hiking on Hsuehshan (雪山), prompting park authorities to remind hikers to bring proper equipment and consider their physical condition before setting out in the cold weather. Temperatures dropped over the weekend, bringing snow to high altitudes in Shei-pa National Park. One hiker, surnamed Lin (林), who on Friday was traveling with a group of six along the Hsuehshan west ridge trail, lost consciousness due to hypothermia and died, the Shei-pa National Park Headquarters said. On Saturday, another hiker, surnamed Tien (田), in a group of five on the southeast of the west
RSS