The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday issued updated guidelines to protect the rights of foreign students interning in Taiwan, including clearer rules on student eligibility, internship stipends and working hours.
Under the revised guidelines, students must be enrolled at overseas universities officially listed by the Ministry of Education, the MOEA’s Department of Investment Review said in a news release.
Students must have completed at least one semester of study before coming to Taiwan and be of an age appropriate for their program. They must also be studying a field related to their internship and have basic Chinese or English communication skills to ensure the quality and effectiveness of the internship, the department said.
Photo: CNA
Speaking to reporters before a meeting, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said a total of 1,805 foreign students were approved to intern in Taiwan last year, with their internships covering the food and beverage, logistics and manufacturing sectors.
Interns must be paid no less than the minimum wage, including scholarships and living allowances, Kung said.
Working hours are limited to eight hours a day and 40 hours per week, and interns may not be scheduled to work between 10pm and 6am without their written consent, to prevent them being overworked.
Taiwan’s minimum monthly wage, effective on Thursday last week, is NT$29,500, while the hourly rate is NT$196.
Meanwhile, the MOEA reiterated that interns must also be covered by appropriate insurance provided by the internship host, including at least group accident or occupational accident insurance.
The ministry said it would conduct joint inspections with relevant agencies, including the Ministry of Labor, on an irregular basis as part of oversight measures.
Internship providers that violate the rules can be barred from hosting foreign interns in Taiwan for six months.
Addressing concerns that the updated guidelines could raise costs and prompt pushback from some businesses, Kung said foreign interns “should not be treated as cheap labor.”
Without elaborating, he added that the ministry has other support measures for companies undergoing upgrades or restructuring and believes the guidelines would strike a balance between business development and intern protections.
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