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.
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