The two-day Taiwan-EU Labor Consultation, which concluded on Friday in Belgium, was focused on Taiwan’s approach to its labor shortage and its employment of migrant workers, Minister of Labor Hsu Ming-chun (許銘春) said.
The consultation was different from previous years, when Taiwanese representatives were more engaged in learning from their European counterparts about labor protection, Hsu said in an interview after the meeting.
However, at this year’s meeting, the EU representatives were very intrigued with Taiwan’s policy of pushing for the employment of older workers to address its labor shortage, she said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Labor
The EU delegates were also interested in Taiwan’s hiring of migrant caregivers to meet rising demand for long-term care of elderly people amid an aging society, she added.
The Taiwan-EU Labor Consultation, launched in 2018, was held in-person this year, with Hsu leading the Taiwanese delegation, after two years of virtual meetings due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The EU delegation was led by Joost Korte, head of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, the Ministry of Labor said, adding that private European groups were invited to the consultation for the first time.
Korte “focused all of his attention on listening to us and taking notes when we were sharing information about our policies in the meeting,” Hsu said. “They are learning from us,” as Europe is facing a labor shortage in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The European Commission last year put forth an EU Care Strategy to tackle the demand for long-term care of the elderly, and the EU representatives were eager to gain a better understanding of Taiwan’s migrant worker policy, which seeks to address long-term care issues, Hsu said.
Hsu said she told the EU attendees about Taiwan’s initiative of encouraging enterprises to hire more middle-aged and elderly workers to boost the workforce, in light of the labor shortage.
Under Taiwan’s Middle-aged and Elderly Employment Promotion Act (中高齡者及高齡者就業促進法), the term “senior and middle-aged persons” refers to people aged 45 to 65, while the “elderly” means those older than 65.
While many European countries tend to offer tax cuts as a way of addressing the labor shortage, Taiwan provides subsidies to employers who hire middle-aged and elderly workers, Hsu said.
The subsidies are also extended for the employment of women seeking to return to work after leaving the job market for an extended period, she said.
Taiwan does not favor tax cuts, as it already has relatively low tax rates, she said.
The hotel housekeeper employment subsidy policy, which was introduced in May by the labor ministry and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, will be in force for one year, Hsu said.
If the domestic economy recovers next year, the policy might be terminated, but the tourism industry is unlikely to be affected, she said, adding that employers would lean toward retaining workers in an improving economy.
Hsu said the employment rate in the 55-to-64 age group in Taiwan is below 50 percent, which is low on an international scale.
In terms of long-term care, the labor ministry on Jan. 1 launched a Migrant Workers One-Stop Service Center — the first in Asia — which provides free three-day training for migrant workers before they start work, she said.
Through such training, migrant caregivers can learn more about their rights and benefits in Taiwan, and gain a better understanding of the country’s working environment, she said.
The EU does not have a comprehensive policy on migrant long-term caregivers, and it wants to learn from Taiwan in that area, Hsu said.
Taiwan is seeking to retain its experienced migrant industrial workers and caregivers, as other countries would be eyeing them after they have been trained in Taiwan, she said.
As of the end of May, there were 737,093 migrant workers in Taiwan, 225,301 of whom were domestic and institutional caregivers, up from 223,785 at the end of April, the labor ministry said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and