The Tourism Administration yesterday issued revised regulations governing applications by the hotel industry for foreign student internships, which require a minimum subsidy to ensure foreign interns’ welfare.
The hotel industry has seen a labor shortage and introduced a college intern program to partially sate the labor demand.
About 1,900 of more than 2,700 student applicants were approved last year, limiting their internship to half of their academic duration.
Photo courtesy of the Workforce Development Agency
For example, a foreign student of a four-year college program in their country can do internships in Taiwan for up to two years.
However, foreign interns get no salaries and whether they have internship subsidies, food, accommodation and reasonable work hours was part of the agreement between their school and local hotel operators, meaning many of their labor rights and benefits were not legally protected.
The Tourism Administration revised regulations, requiring hotels to offer each foreign intern a subsidy package of no less than the minimum wage enacted by the Ministry of Labor, which is NT$29,500 monthly or NT$196 hourly from the beginning of this year.
Board and lodging fees can be deducted from the subsidy package, but would be capped at NT$5,000 based on an administrative interpretation published in 2007 by then-Labor Affairs Council.
Work is capped at eight hours a day and no more than 40 hours a week. Work is generally forbidden from 10pm to 6am unless written consent has been obtained from the intern.
Hotels should grant interns a certificate after the internship is completed and report to the administration within 30 days following the internship completion.
Administration official Tsao Yi-shu (曹逸書) said the regulations were revised to enhance foreign interns’ rights, including ensuring a subsidy and preventing exploitation.
Under revised regulations, interns must have their age in line with their academic level to prevent applicants from impersonating a student to work in Taiwan via the foreign student internship program.
They must also have basic language proficiency in Mandarin or English. Students from non-
English-speaking countries must have certification of A1 or higher in the Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language or the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
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