An upcoming amendment in Taiwanese law will make things significantly much easier for foreign workers, including overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Once the amendment is in place, they will not have to travel outside the country before they can be re-hired.
According to a news report by Focus Taiwan, the Employment Service Act will permit all foreign workers who have been employed in Taiwan for over 3 years to be re-hired without requiring them to leave the country first.
The first reading has already been passed at the legislative Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee and this initiative is done in an attempt to benefit both the employers and the foreign workers.
Huang Chiu-Kuei, Director-General of Workforce Development Agency, said that the revision is a huge step towards the country’s efforts in human rights protection. In the coming years, all types of foreign workers will be able to extend their employment in Taiwan without having to travel back to their home countries to apply for a new visa.
With this amendment implemented, foreign workers will be able to save on travel time as well as travel-related expenditures (such as airfare, labor broker fees, and others). At the same time, Taiwan-based employers will not have to suffer instances when their employees are away or train and hire temporary workers as well.
The Ministry of Labor has said that there are currently more than 595,000 foreign workers in Taiwan.
Of course, both the foreign workers and the Taiwanese employers are delighted with the upcoming change. Let’s all hope it gets approved sooner than later.
via: focustaiwan