Labor activists said they would march on the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) building this week to protest the council’s inability to help middle-aged and elderly workers find jobs.
Su Chen (蘇諍), convener of the Association of the Human Rights of the Jobless, said the association would call on labor groups and workers to gather in front of the CLA building and demand that Council Minister Jennifer Wang (王如玄) step down to take responsibility for the deteriorating job situation for middle-aged and elderly workers.
STATISTICS
The association cited statistics that showed the number of middle-aged and elderly jobless workers stood at 70,000 in October, but had climbed to 140,000 in May.
The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics said 633,000 people were unemployed in May, of whom 22 percent were middle-aged or elderly.
The association said the numbers showed that the council had been ineffective in helping older workers find jobs.
FAILING
“The quickly rising number of older people without work shows that the council is not fulfilling its duties,” Su said.
“It has also stubbornly rejected suggestions to improve the situation from labor groups,” Su said.
“All this shows is that it is time for [Wang] to step down,” Su added.
Su said the council’s program to provide on-the-job training for older workers had failed to help them develop effective job skills, while short-term jobs in government agencies had resulted in older workers being prejudiced against and unable to find employment after the short-term job offers expired.
PROPOSAL
The association called on the council to provide subsidies for businesses that hire older workers to increase the incentive for creating such positions, similar to current government subsidies for businesses that hire new graduates to help them find jobs as they enter the job market.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
PROXIMITY: Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location, the Executive Yuan official said Taiwan plans to boost cooperation with the Czech Republic in semiconductor development due to Prague’s pivotal role in the European IC industry, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said. With Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) building a wafer fab in the German city of Dresden, a Germany-Czech Republic-Poland “silicon triangle” is forming, Kung said in a media interview on the weekend after returning from a visit to Prague. “Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location,” he said. “Taiwan and Prague have already launched direct flights and it is