The Executive Yuan is considering lowering the threshold for hiring migrant workers for private construction projects, which could allow for the recruitment of an additional 3,400 workers, a Ministry of Labor official said yesterday.
The Cabinet in March held two meetings to discuss the proposal, which is aimed at easing chronic labor shortages in the construction industry, the source said.
Under a draft plan, the government would scrap a requirement that a private construction project have an overall value of at least NT$10 billion (US$358.32 million) to be eligible to hire migrant workers, said the official, who declined to be named.
For specific construction projects by individual companies, the threshold for hiring migrant workers would be lowered from NT$1 billion to NT$200 million, which could consist of two separate projects each valued at least NT$100 million, the official said.
However, the project would have to be a specific type of construction defined by the government as benefiting the public, such as those related to public infrastructure, sports, tourism or urban renewal, the official said.
Although it would exclude many types of private construction, the ministry estimates that it would still allow qualifying companies to hire about 3,400 additional migrant workers, the official said.
Taiwan has already twice lowered the requirements for recruiting migrant workers for government-funded construction projects.
In March last year, it lowered its threshold from a project value of NT$10 billion to NT$1 billion, which was lowered again to NT$100 million in August last year.
As of March, there were 713,933 migrant workers in Taiwan, of which 36.1 percent were from Indonesia, 34.47 percent from Vietnam, 21.07 percent from the Philippines and 8.35 percent from Thailand, ministry data showed.
Of the total, 4,599 worked in the construction sector.
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)
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it