Migrant workers close to reaching the maximum 12 or 14 year stay in Taiwan can now have their employers apply for a one-year work permit extension on their behalf, the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) under the Ministry of Labor said Tuesday.
The extension will be available to migrant workers employed in the production sector, who are currently limited to working for a maximum of 12 years in Taiwan, and also to private home-based migrant caregivers, who can currently work in Taiwan for a maximum of 14 years, the WDA said in a statement.
The move is designed to reduce the risk of cross-border movement during the COVID-19 pandemic and to save resources related to quarantine and testing, the WDA said, adding that the policy may be adjusted due to pandemic-related developments.
For those who meet the qualification, consent of the worker must be made before the employer can apply to the Ministry of Labor (MOL) for the extension, the WDA said.
The application can only be made 30 days before or after the expiration of the existing employment permit, the WDA said.
Citing an example, the agency said a private home-based migrant caregiver whose employment permit is set to expire on July 15, 2022, while she is about to reach a total accumulated 14 years working in Taiwan, can have her permit extended to July 15, 2023.
Currently, around 35,320 migrant workers can benefit from the extension opportunity, according to the WDA.
According to the latest MOL statistics, there were a total of 666,371 migrant workers in Taiwan as of the end of April, the majority of whom, 446,485, are employed in the production sector, followed by 219,886 in the social welfare sector.
Critisisms of current rules
Despite the opportunity for migrant workers to extend their work permits for one year, many civil groups have criticized Taiwan’s rules regulating the stay of migrant workers.
According to the Migrant Empowerment Network in Taiwan (MENT), a coalition of civil groups promoting migrant worker rights, the different treatment afforded to “white-collar” and “blue-collar” foreign workers is said to be “discriminatory” and “anti-equality” because of the differences in how long they are allowed to stay and work in Taiwan.
There are no maximum time restrictions for “white-collar” foreign workers, whereas “blue-collar” foreign workers are only allowed to work in Taiwan for a maximum of 12-14 years, MENT said in a statement on May 8.
Migrant workers were “merely spare and disposable ‘guest workers’ for employers, who have to leave eventually,” the group complained.
On April 30, the MOL launched a pathway to permanent residency in Taiwan for migrant workers, where the first step is to be reclassified as “mid-level skilled workers” if they have been employed in a designated field for at least six years and meet certain conditions, such as minimum wage requirements.
However, the level of required income has been met with criticism, especially from migrant caregivers working in private homes, who say their average monthly salary is only around NT$17,000 (US$585.10) when they need to show a minimum monthly pay of NT$24,000.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel