• Last updated:2021-11-03

Quarterly Focus

• The Council of Labor Affairs encourages enterprises to promote work-life balance for a win-win situation for workers and management

  In today's era of globalization, both enterprises and individuals are faced with intense competition and challenges. With changes in industrial and family structures, enterprises must have a stable and creative labor force in order to maintain competitiveness; only then can they blaze new trails and gain profit. Therefore, only by creating a supportive work environment, looking after employee and their families, valuing employees' career plans and self-actualization, ensuring work-life balance, encouraging them to exhibit enthusiasm and potential in their work and improving employee solidarity and satisfaction can enterprises attract and retain exceptional talent and improve productivity, thereby increasing productivity and national competitiveness in society. Promoting work-life balance is therefore more than simply an important issue of labor welfare and enterprise management, it is also crucial to sustainable development policies in national society at large.

Policies & Regulations

• The Council of Labor Affairs will enact a Mentoring Program to increase technical skill among young people

  Under the impact of globalization and the development of a knowledge economy, today' s new generation has to develop a richer and more diverse set of career appropriate skills. In order to assist young people in finding employment, the Bureau of Employment and Vocational Training, Council of Labor Affairs, Executive Yuan, integrates government resources and cooperating with the private sector in different stages to implement relevant employment training measures. These include Subsidizing Colleges for Sponsoring Placement Courses, Dual Track Vocational Training Project, Industry- Academy-Training Center Co-op Program, Youth Placement Flag-ship Program, Guidelines for Youth Employment Subsidy and others. This will serve to curtail the gap between education and required skills and to alleviate the problem of structural unemployment.

• The Council of Labor Affairs launches a cross-sector employment allowance to help unemployed workers to find employment in other sectors

  In order to counter the problem of regional lack of jobs, lower the barriers for unemployed workers to find work in other areas and to help them get back to work as quickly as possible, the Council of Labor Affairs of the Executive Yuan (CLA) launched the “Cross-sector Employment Allowance” program on October 18, 2013, to help to restore the balance between those seeking and offering employment.

• Minimum hourly wage will be increased to NT$115 from January 1, 2014; Monthly minimum wage will be increased to NT$19,273 from July 1, 2014

  The purpose of the minimum wage is to protect the basic livelihood of workers. Article 21 of Labor Standards Act stipulates the amount of remuneration should be determined through negotiations between employer and employee, but must exceed the minimum wage. The minimum wage is set by the Minimum Wage Commission established by the central competent body, the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) and then approved by the Executive Yuan. In order to ensure a basic standard of living and to maintain purchasing power of workers, the CLA will continue to examine the minimum wage and adjust it accordingly.

• Beginning April 1, 2014, the Labor Standards Act (LSA) shall apply to lawyers working in the legal services industry

  In accordance with Paragraph 3, Article 3 of the Labor Standards Act (LSA), the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) discussed the relaxation of the law to accommodate workers in all fields not yet covered by the act. On numerous occasions, the CLA invited the Ministry of Justice and representatives from major law associations to discuss on the feasibility of applying the LSA to law professionals working in the legal services industry. Since the ground for not including lawyers working in the legal services industry no longer exists, it was concluded that they should gain the protection of said law. It was also agreed upon that institutions should be given a grace period in which to reach the standards stipulated in the LSA. Hence, beginning on April 1, 2014, the LSA will apply to all lawyers working in the legal services industry. This will benefit an estimated 7,500 people.

News Outlook

• The launch of iCAP; international Competency-based Program (CBP) exchange

  In recent years, globalization and the rise of emerging industrial nations, Taiwanese industries are faced with fiercer international competition, that in turns spurs changes in industrial structure, moving from subcontracted production to the direction of high added value. This results in every industry to engage in active innovation and enhance both ends of the value chain (research and development and brand channel). The demand for talents has therefore become even more intense.

• Economic Outlook and Investment Strategy in 2014 for Labor Pension Fund

  A tidal wave of unemployment is currently sweeping the world's younger generation. In order to respond to this profound crisis and help the younger generation enter the job market, while simultaneously resolving the differences between what is learned in schools and what is needed by the industry, the Bureau of Employment and Vocational Training (BEVT) held a one and a half day International Technical Skills Training Seminar at National Taipei University of Technology on September 24- 25,2013. It was hoped that Taiwanese participants could expand their international horizons and stimulate innovative thinking through hearing about innovative training methods used in Germany, South Korea, Australia and other countries. Through discussions between international speakers, young scholars and Taiwanese participants from various professional strata carried out exchange of knowledge.

• The Council of Labor Affairs invited experts to examine Taiwan's compliance with the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families

  In 2012, the Taiwan government presented their initial country report on Taiwan's compliance with “the Two Covenants”,and this year (2013) convened a first international meeting to review the report. Ten international human rights experts were invited to Taiwan to evaluate whether the Taiwan government had fulfilled their obligations under the covenants. In Point 11 of their concluding observations and recommendations, independent international experts suggested that the Taiwan government should launch the necessary preparatory procedures for ratification of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families so as to implement this convention(ICRMW) at the earliest possible moment.

• Burkina Faso's Minister for Youth & Employment leads a delegation on a visit to Taiwan to promote cooperation

  S.E.M. Basga Emile Dialla, Minister for Youth & Employment for the ROC's West African diplomatic ally Burkina Faso, led a delegation comprising of the ministry's General Director of Training, M. Ambroise Bakyono, General Director of Research & Statistics, M. Hugues Christian Lingani, and the head coordinator of Fondation Lucie Kaboré Traoré (LKT,) Mme Lucie Traore, to Taiwan from November 10 to 14, 2013.

• Source:Department of General Planning
• Publication Date:2013-11-30
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