The number of unaccounted-for migrant workers in the first half of the year is 4,400 fewer than in the same period last year, the Ministry of Labor said yesterday, responding to a local media report that said that more workers had absconded from their employers than in previous years.
For the first six months of the year, 2.28 percent of the nation’s total migrant workers were unaccounted for, or about 16,700 of 739,000 migrant workers, down from 3.14 percent, or about 21,000 workers, in the same period last year, the ministry said.
The rate increased to 5.96 percent in the second half of last year, it added.
Photo: Lee Chin-hui, Taipei Times
A Chinese-language United Daily News report, which said it was citing National Immigration Agency data, said that as of the end of May, the number of foreigners illegally residing in Taiwan had reached a high of 115,000, including nearly 83,000 migrant workers reported missing by their employers.
COVID-19 border controls have in the past few years affected the number of migrant workers entering Taiwan and the deportation of undocumented workers, the labor ministry said.
As border control measures were lifted and flights restored in March, the number of migrant workers increased, it said.
In addition, the National Immigration Agency, working with police, cracked down on illegal employment and expanded a voluntary departure program for those overstaying their visas, which helped lower the rate this year, it said.
Bilateral meetings with the countries where most migrant workers come from continue to address expanding the scope of direct recruitment of migrant workers, the ministry said.
On Tuesday last week, Taiwanese and Indonesian officials agreed to expand recruitment of caregivers directly from Indonesian care facilities, in an effort to ease migrant workers’ financial burden in paying broker fees, it said.
An amended regulation published on July 18, which is set to go into effect soon after the public comment period ends, would routinely check the number of unaccounted-for workers from foreign brokers and recruitment agencies, it added.
The ministry said it has also investigated higher rates of unaccounted-for workers in the construction and agricultural sectors.
A consultative advisory group in March urged the ministry to limit the number of absconded migrant workers, as more unaccounted-for workers would lead to lax regulations, allowing more migrant workers to enter the Taiwanese job market, it said.
The group said that the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Agriculture should help employers increase their knowledge on the Regulations on the Permission and Administration of the Employment of Foreign Workers (雇主聘僱外國人許可及管理辦法) and hire migrant workers carefully, it said.
The labor ministry said it has also proposed an amendment to stiffen the penalties for illegal employers by fining them for each undocumented worker they hire, and increase the fines for brokers who facilitate the hiring of undocumented migrant workers up to NT$1.5 million (US$47,173).
It would also continue working with other ministries and agencies to improve measures for preventing the hiring of undocumented migrant workers.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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