Some migrant workers in Taiwan would soon be eligible to receive “intermediate skilled worker” status after working six cumulative years with the same employer, even if they are not consecutive, the Ministry of Labor said, adding that it would enable them to eventually qualify for permanent residency.
The ministry last year launched a worker retention scheme which allowed employers in certain fields — manufacturing, livestock slaughter, construction, agriculture and long-term care — to apply to have their migrant employees designated as “foreign intermediate skilled workers.”
Employees with this designation have no limit to the number of years they can work in Taiwan. They can receive higher salaries, and five years after being granted the status, they can apply for permanent residence.
Photo: CNA
However, migrant workers are required of current regulations to work for six consecutive years to become eligible for the program.
Paul Su (蘇裕國), head of the Cross-Border Workforce Management Division under the ministry’s Workforce Development Agency, said this rule had created problems for migrants, as many migrant workers choose to take a break in their home country, before returning to Taiwan to sign a new contract with their employer after completing a three-year contract.
To resolve this issue, the ministry has proposed revisions to make migrant workers who have worked six years for the same employer in Taiwan eligible for intermediate skilled worker status, Su said, adding that the rules are expected to take effect before the end of next month.
The ministry has also proposed to allowing migrant workers employed at private construction companies — a sector the ministry only opened to migrant labor in June — to obtain intermediate skilled worker status, he added.
In other developments, Su said that restrictions on the hiring of live-in migrant caregivers in Taiwan are expected to be eased no later than next month.
Su said the easing of rules would enable more families to be eligible to hire migrant caregivers without requiring individuals in need of care to undergo a functionality assessment using the Barthel Index.
The Barthel Index is used in clinical practice and research to measure an individual’s ability to complete activities of daily living.
Individuals who have used long-term care for at least six months and those who have been diagnosed with mild dementia would be exempt from the Barthel Index requirements, he added.
Currently, elderly and severely ill citizens in Taiwan are required to receive such an assessment conducted by a hospital if their family wishes to hire a foreign caregiver, with the exception of individuals categorized under “specific disabilities.”
The category of “specific disabilities,” which currently includes individuals facing significant limitations in their physical and mental abilities, would be expanded to include individuals with mild physical disabilities, as well as patients dealing with rare diseases, severe respiratory disorders, and a loss of swallowing function, the ministry said on Sept. 12.
As part of the new policy, individuals aged 75 and older who hold a disability certificate with unlimited validity and have already hired a foreign caregiver would be exempt from a Barthel Index assessment if the contract of their caregiver expires and they need to hire another caregiver.
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