Taiwan is to bring in 1,000 Indian workers amid a labor shortage in the manufacturing sector, as part of an agreement signed between the two countries earlier this year, Workforce Development Agency Director-General Tsai Meng-liang (蔡孟良) said yesterday.
The decision to bring 1,000 Indian workers to Taiwan was made by Taiwanese and Indian officials handling labor affairs during a working-level meeting in Taipei on Tuesday, Tsai told a news conference.
It would be the first batch of Indian workers brought to Taiwan under the memorandum of understanding inked between the two governments in February.
Photo: CNA
However, Tsai said there is no fixed timeline as to when Indian workers would start coming to Taiwan.
Minister of Labor Ho Pei-shan (何佩珊) said in an interview in July that the Ministry of Labor was aiming to make that happen in the middle of next year.
Tsai appeared to be less certain about the date, stressing that more issues — including procedures for recruiting and bringing in workers — remain to be discussed and finalized between the two sides.
“We of course hope for [the arrival of Indian workers] to take place as soon as possible, but some basic groundwork still needs to be done,” he said, adding that it took Japan about a year after it signed a similar deal with India.
According to the ministry, a five-member delegation led by Surinder Bhagat, joint secretary for overseas employment of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, traveled to Taiwan on Monday and stayed until yesterday to discuss related matters and learn about the work environment in Taiwan.
The two sides also agreed at the meeting that of the 1,000 workers to be brought into Taiwan, 5 percent — or 50 workers — would be hired directly, with the rest recruited through labor brokerages verified by both sides, Tsai said.
Asked about qualifications required of Indian workers, Tsai said no specifics beyond existing Taiwanese regulations on migrant workers had been finalized, but proficiency in the English language is preferred.
He also rejected concerns from some about the potential risks posed by Indian workers to Taiwanese society as “discrimination,” noting that the crime rate in India is not higher than that of many developed countries.
Moreover, the crime rate among migrant workers in Taiwan is less than half that of Taiwanese, he added.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 today amid outcry over his decision to wear a Nazi armband to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case last night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and covering the book with his coat. Lee said today that this is a serious
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
RSS