• Last updated:2021-11-03

Quarterly Focus

• The CLA's current policy focuses and outlook

  In the year past (2012), the world economic situation deteriorated substantially, affecting our domestic economy's growth rate. However, the monitoring indicator for last December was green, and this February the Directorate- General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, Executive Yuan estimated that this year's growth rate will reach 3.59%, a marked improvement on January's forecast and illustrating our country's gradual move away from economic depression.

Policies & Regulations

• 'Labor Insurance Fund' operational performance and future prospects

  Since the separation of labor and health insurances in 1995, the Labor Insurance Fund has accumulated earnings of NT$236.3 billion with an average rate of return of 4.15%. The size of the fund has reached in excess of NT$484.5 billion during a period in which, despite seeing the influence of the global financial crisis and the European debt crisis, it has experienced positive year on year return and solid performance throughout.

• The Youth Employment Promotion Policy in Taiwan

  According to the International Labor Organization's annual report on youth employment, for the year of 2011 the global youth unemployment rate was 12.6%, with a total unemployed population of 74,500,000. Compared with 2007, this is a total increase of 4,000,000. In July 2012, The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Employment Outlook, in which it indicated that youth employment had increased suddenly, and if economic recovery is too slow in coming about then it could harm the youth generation for a lifetime, to the extent that high youth unemployment is gradually evolving from being a cyclical problem to societal structural problem.

• Understanding the Jobseekers' Relief Program

  The Council of Labor Affairs and central governmental ministries are working together to provide the unemployed with short-term employment opportunities and furthermore continue to cooperate in assisting jobseekers. In 2012, the Jobseekers' Relief Program, which has "learning by doing" (learning professional skills in work) as a key principle, was implemented. It aims to strengthen the employment skills of trainees and assist them in making a successful transition back to the regular job market after completing their time on the Program.

News Outlook

• Responses by the Delegation of the U.S.state and federal labor officials visited the Republic of China (Taiwan) upon invitation

  From November 25th to December 1st, 2012, a delegation comprised of U.S. federal and state labor officials visited Taiwan upon invitation. The delegation was represented by the Chairman of NLRB, Mark Pearce, General Legal Counsel, Lafe Solomon, Deputy chairman of FMCS, Allison Beck, and Missouri Labor Director, also the Chairman of NAGLO, Lawrence G. Rebman. The tour includes Council of Labor Affairs, the newly established Board of Decision on the Unfair Labor Practices, the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, a local workshop for Employment Service and Vocational Training, Multi-Employment Development Program in Taichung, Bureau of Labor Insurance, Ministry of Economic Affairs, and Bureau of National Health Insurance, etc. During the visit, the delegates and the representatives from the Council of Labor Affairs engaged in many topics of labor issues, which opened up a new chapter in the collaboration between Taiwan and the U.S. regarding the exchange of labor issues.

• Mar. 2, 2013 Set as the National Equal Pay Day in Taiwan This Year in the Hope that All Sectors Can Continue Effort to Reduce Gender Pay Gap

   

  The Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) announced just before the International Women's Day that Mar. 2 as the national Equal Pay Day this year to promote the public awareness of inequality in pay between men and women and to urge all sectors to work together and continue their efforts to reduce the gender pay gap.

  Acting according to the results of the Employees' Earnings Survey by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) and the approach adopted by the European Commission to calculate and set the Equal Pay Day in Europe, the CLA had publicly announced Mar. 5 to be the Equal Pay Day in 2012 for the first time with the intention to draw public attention to the pay gap between men and women. The Employees' Earnings Survey conducted by the DGBAS this year showed that the average pay of women in Taiwan in 2012 was 16.6% less than that of men. Compared to the 17.3% difference in 2011, there was progress and the gap was smaller than in the US, Japan, and Korea. According to the calculation based on the number of work days, women had to work 61 more days (the 2012 16.6% difference x 365 days = 60.6 days) to earn the same amount that men received in 2011. Therefore, the CLA set the Equal Pay Day on Mar. 2 this year.

   

• Encouraging Women into Work, Collectively Creating New Workplaces

  The recently celebrated 8th March is a date can be said to belong to women, designated as International Women's Day. Taiwan's female labor participation rate has now surpassed 50%, and, thus, in response, the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) has made the creation of gender-equality friendly workplaces a key aim. Apart from this, on International Women's Day itself, the Bureau of Employment and Vocational Training brought together many resources to hold a special employment fair. The aim was to assist women in displaying their full talents across both professional and domestic life, as well as celebrate International Women's Day alongside women everywhere.

• Revisions to Application Qualifications for Employment of Foreign Workers

  The Council for Labor Affairs Conference on 27th February 2013 passed draft revisions to "The Reviewing Standards and Employment Qualifications for Foreigners Engaging in the Jobs Specified in Items 8 to 11, Paragraph 1 to Article 46 of the Employment Service Act" (the Reviewing Standards below) adjusting the application qualifications needed to hire foreign workers within the manufacturing sector, and establishment of a pilot scheme to allow flexible hiring of foreign careworkers for family service and relaxing restrictions on the hiring of foreign domestic helpers by foreign professionals. These amendments were formally announced on 11th March 2013, and came into effect on 13th March.

• Source:Department of General Planning
• Publication Date:2013-02-28
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