Several labor groups yesterday urged the Ministry of Labor to place all migrant workers under the newer pension system during a protest against a measure that the ministry said would give migrant workers greater access to the pension scheme.
Gathering outside the ministry in Taipei, groups including the Taiwan International Workers' Association (TIWA) criticized the planned measure set to take effect on April 1, under which employers would be required to place all blue-collar migrant workers who have worked for them for 10 years or more under the older pension system.
Employers would be required to enroll eligible migrant workers in the older pension system and contribute 2 to 15 percent of each worker's monthly salary to a pooled labor retirement reserve fund rather than an individual account, the ministry has said.
Photo: CNA
The planned measure expands the application of the older pension system to migrant workers.
However, the eligibility criteria, including a requirement that they must remain with the same employer for more than a decade, means that pension benefits would still be largely out of reach for most migrant workers, labor groups said.
Many migrant workers are employed in the industrial sector and "often see their contracts expire or are transferred to new employers," making it difficult for them to remain with the same employer for 10 years, TIWA official Wu Jing-ru (吳靜如) said.
Some employers might also "legally end a worker's employment" before they become eligible under the new measure to avoid having to make labor pension contributions, Wu said.
The groups urged the government to extend the newer pension system, which has been in place for Taiwanese workers since 2005, to all migrant workers, including domestic caregivers and domestic helpers, so they can be treated the same as local employees.
The newer system requires employers to contribute at least 6 percent of a worker's monthly wage to an individual pension account instead of a pool fund.
In a statement, the ministry did not explain why it opted to apply the older system — which has more rigid eligibility rules than the newer one and is being gradually phased out for local workers — to migrant workers.
Migrant workers are covered by the older system and can claim retirement benefits if they meet the legal requirements, it said.
“Their rights are the same as those of local workers covered by the older system," it said.
Meanwhile, the International Association of Family and Employers with Disabilities, an employers' group, said if the system is made mandatory for all migrant workers, it would directly raise care costs for households.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
When Paraguayan opposition lawmaker Leidy Galeano returned from an all-expenses-paid tour of six Chinese cities late last year, she was convinced Paraguay risked missing out on major economic gains by sticking with longtime ally Taipei over Beijing — a message that participants on the trip heard repeatedly from Chinese officials. “Everything I saw there, I wanted for my country,” said Galeano, a member of the newly-formed Yo Creo party whose senior figures have spoken favorably about China. This trip and others like it — which people familiar with the visits said were at the invitation of the Chinese consulate in Sao Paulo
RSS