A recent contest organized by the Ministry of Labor reveals at once the condescending attitude of labor officials to migrant workers in Taiwan. This takes place despite rhetoric from the state touting the pluralism of Taiwanese society and the inclusion of migrant workers in the social fabric...
China Airlines’ labor union reached a deal with management for year-end bonuses to consist of six months’ wages last month. This was a historic high for year-end bonuses distributed by China Airlines in the company’s 62-year history...
A new requirement that took effect starting on December 1st requires migrant workers to have COVID-19 insurance before they will be allowed to enter Taiwan, which will be paid for by their employer. As with other inbound travelers, migrant workers will be required to quarantine for fourteen days after entry. But while, in theory, this should insure migrant workers so that they have coverage in the event that they have COVID-19 when they enter Taiwan, the possibility remains that employers will try to pass the costs onto migrant workers...
The Ministry of Labor announced a new points-based system for allowing migrant workers into Taiwan earlier this week. The points-based system is a measure to cope with a labor shortage, as a result of limited quarantine facilities, and the inability of migrant workers to enter Taiwan en masse because of the global COVID-19 pandemic...
The Taoyuan Pilot's Union has called for pilots to have a three-day break between quarantine and long-haul flights, following the death of a China Airlines pilot on Monday in his home. The cause of death of the pilot, who was 61-years-old and from Venezuela, is still being investigated. There is particular scrutiny on whether he might have died due to COVID-19...
The Ministry of Labor announced on October 8th that Taiwan’s minimum wage will increase by five percent, starting next year on January 1st. According to the ministry’s Minimum Wage Review Committee, the minimum monthly salary will increase from 24,000 NT to 25,520 NT, while the hourly wage will increase from 160 NT to 168 NT...
Workers for the Chunghwa Express, a subsidiary of the Chunghwa Post, demonstrated outside of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications earlier this week. The workers were part of the Chunghwa Express Labor Union, which is threatening to strike at the end of the month if a pay raise is not approved...
Police cracked down on a party at a Vietnamese restaurant in Taoyuan on Sunday, finding that 102 migrant workers were gathered on the premises. While four of the individuals present were restaurant workers, 98 were customers—most of which were migrant workers. Police found the party while conducting door-to-door inspections, patrolling on the search for runaway migrant workers...
The Tsai administration passed measures limiting the ability of migrant workers to transfer jobs across employment categories this week, as announced by the Ministry of Labor. The new regulations will take effect on Sunday...
105 Indonesian sailors returned home by plane after close to half a year of being stranded at sea on August 21st. The sailors were unable to enter Taiwan because of border restrictions that prevent merchant vessels registered to a different country from docking in Taiwan, only allowing ships owned by Taiwanese nationals and registered to Taiwan to dock. Likewise, maritime conventions dictate that it is the responsibility of the owner of a vessel, the nation to which the vessel is registered, and the nation to which the sailors come from to provide for repatriations...