The Ministry of Environment on Monday said that it would hold a meeting with stakeholders on Tuesday next week to discuss allowing waste recycling companies to hire migrant workers.
The ministry’s Resource Circulation Administration (RECA) said it would invite officials from the Ministry of Labor’s Workforce Development Agency, local governments and recycling companies to a meeting to discuss the introduction of migrant workers to meet labor demands of the industry.
REVISING GUIDELINES
Photo: CNA
Although the waste recycling and processing industry is “dirty, dangerous and difficult,” it is not registered as a manufacturing sector, the RECA said.
As it is officially a non-manufacturing sector, companies cannot hire migrant workers, it added.
The RECA said it is formulating guidelines on qualifications.
Waste recycling companies that have registered with local environmental authorities would be qualified to hire migrant workers, it said.
An initial survey indicated that about 660 waste recycling companies would need a total of more than 1,000 migrant workers, the RECA said.
Waste recycling companies with a factory registration license are already eligible to make an application to hire migrant workers, RECA deputy director-general Lin Chien-san (林健三) said.
REQUIREMENTS
The scheme aims to clear the way for those without a license, as they cannot identify themselves as manufacturers, even though they offer similar jobs, he said.
The companies’ applications would be approved only if they can provide a satisfying work environment and a starting salary of no less than the minimum wage, and cannot find a Taiwanese worker, he said.
The administration would oversee reviewing and approving applications, he said, adding that it would consider making periodic on-site inspections to ensure that migrant workers are not exploited.
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