On November 28, 2018, the president announced amendments to Article 5, paragraph 2 of the Employment Service Act. Employers recruiting or hiring employees must not have a regular pay less than NT$40,000 for a vacancy without publicly displaying or informing them of their salary range. Offenders will be fined anywhere from NT$60,000 to NT$300,000. The Ministry of Labor (MOL) reminds the public that starting November 30, 2018, if an employer publishes a job vacancy with a salary less than NT$40,000, the salary range should be disclosed in accordance with the law.

The MOL expressed that the purpose of this revision is to promote salary transparency so job seekers know the salary range of jobs when browsing advertisements and assess whether or not they should submit a resume or go to an interview. This helps job seekers utilize their time effectively and also helps employers recruit the talent they need quickly.

In order to promote salary transparency, the MOL is working with local governments to continue advocating employment services for employers, public and private employment service agencies and publishers of job advertisements to set more specific and clear salary ranges based on their recruiting conditions. In addition, the ministry also established “the Job Category Salary Survey Inquiry System” and the “Average Salary and College Graduate Employment Navigation Query System” as reference for employers to establish a salary range and for job seekers. If you have any questions, please contact the MOL’s service center at 0800-777-888.

Keywords: Salary Disclosure, Salaries Less Than NT$40,000, Publicly Disclosed Salary Range

On October 30, 2018, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) announced amendments to the List of the Covered Industry and Schedule of the Premium Rates for Occupational Accident Insurance, which will take effect starting January 1, 2019. The MOL expressed that according to Article 13, paragraph 3 of the Labor Insurance Act, the occupational accident insurance premium rate is divided into the Industry Category Accident Premium and the On and Off Duty Accident Premium (flat rate). Premiums are adjusted every three years by the ministry and submitted to the Executive Yuan for approval and implementation. The covered industry categories used to calculate occupational accident insurance premium rates remain the same at 55 categories. Rate adjustment is based on the amount of occupational accident insurance payments, the total amount of insurance insured, etc. The actuarial method is used to determine the applicable rate for each industry category and the On and Off Duty Accident Premium will be adjusted to 0.07%; the Industry Category Accident Premium rate will be adjusted to 0.14%. Adding both rates together yields an average occupational accident insurance rate of 0.21%.

Keywords: Labor Insurance, Occupational Accident Insurance, Occupational Accident Insurance Rate

Minister of Labor (MOL) Hsu Ming-Chun met with 10 members of the U.S. federal and state labor administrations delegation on November 26 of last year (2018).

Minister Hsu said that since the inauguration of President Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan has focused more attention on protecting labor rights and has set safe labor and fair labor relations as the government’s main policy objectives. The government has implemented the five-day work week and proposed a number of salary increases measures to take on the phenomenon of low wages. At the same time, the ministry has also increased the number of labor inspection personnel to strengthen and protect labor rights and work safety.

In addition, the MOL of Taiwan is the only international member of the National Association of Government Labor Officials (NAGLO) in the U.S. Every year, Taiwan sends representatives to attend the annual NAGLO conference and establish good relationships with U.S. federal and state labor administration heads. At the same time, since 1998, Taiwan’s MOL has invited U.S. federal officials and state labor executives to visit Taiwan to establish a foundation for cooperation in labor affairs. In July of last year Minister Hsu personally attended the annual NAGLO conference and shared Taiwan’s experiences and achievements in safeguarding labor rights and interests, and invited U.S. federal and state officials to visit Taiwan; she is very pleased her efforts cumulated in this visit of U.S. officials to Taiwan.

Minister Hsu also said that Taiwan’s MOL has signed several relevant agreements and memoranda with the U.S. Department of Labor and federal labor agencies. For example, in 2015, Taiwan signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Taiwan-US Labor Relations Law and Procedure Cooperation Project with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). This time, the chairman of the NLRB personally visited Taiwan so the ministry took the opportunity to continue follow-up discussions on the implementation of the memorandum.

Since it was the first time that the members of the U.S. federal and state labor administrations delegation visited Taiwan, the MOL planned professional forums on themes such as the “Taiwan-US Unfair Labor Practices Dispute Resolution Symposium”, “Occupational Safety and Health” and “Taiwan-US Government Labor Officials Symposium”. The delegation visited the National Health Insurance Administration, the Bureau of Labor Insurance, the APEC Skills Development Capacity Building Alliance Institute (ASD-CBAI) and the Taichung-Changhua-Nantou Branch, Workforce Development Agency, etc. The delegation also toured the 2018 Taichung World Flora Exposition. The tours were conducive for foreign guests to obtain an in-depth understanding of Taiwan’s labor policy and the effectiveness of their implementation, as well as experience Taiwan culture.

Keywords: U.S. Federal and State Labor Executive Heads, National Association of Government Labor Officials (NAGLO), Taiwan-US Relations on Labor Cooperation

In order to improve occupational health practices in Taiwan, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Ministry of Labor (OSHA) and Institute of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health, Ministry of Labor (ILOSH) jointly organized the 2018 Asian Network of Occupational with Yang-Ming University and the Occupational Hygiene Association of Taiwan Hygiene Conference on November 4-6, 2018. Scholars and experts from the United States, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, as well as domestic professionals from industry, government, academia and research shared international trends in occupational health and practices dealing with hazard exposure and risk assessment. Through these international cooperation and exchanges, Taiwan seeks to improve the professional standards of domestic occupational health and safety.

On November 5, Vice President Chen Chien-jen, President of the Control Yuan Chang Po-ya and others attended the event and expressed their appreciation and concern for occupational health issues. In his speech Deputy Minister Shih Keh-Her said that at this stage of its development Taiwan had completed the legal aspects of chemical management and monitoring operating environments and will focus on the implementation of related tools, planning and establishing a decision-making database and cultivation of talent, and actively promote operations related to occupational safety and health.

At the conference, CEO of the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA) and vice president of the Asian Network of Occupational Hygiene Conference Doo Yong Park was invited to visit the Ministry of Labor. On his visit, Park held a dialogue with Minister of Labor Hsu Ming-Chun to exchange views on issues such as separate legislation on occupational accident insurance in the future for Taiwan. It is hoped that Taiwan can take advantage of South Korea’s successful experiences and improve its occupational accident prevention and reconstruction systems.

OSHA said, “these kind of exchanges and meetings make it possible to learn about relevant information and experiences shared by domestic and foreign scholars and experts, and discussion of more vigorous and sophisticated practices helps Taiwan plan and promote occupational safety and health policies for the future”. In the future, through continuous cooperation amongst industry, government, academia and research and combination of resources from various fields, Taiwan will continue to improve workplace risk exposure management and physical and mental health protections for the workplace to create a safe, healthy and comfortable workplace environment.

Keywords: Occupational Health, Asian Network of Occupational Hygiene Conferences, Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA)

In order to enhance labor cooperation between Taiwan and Indonesia, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) held the 9th Taiwan-Indonesian Labor Conference at The Westin Taipei on December 14, 2018. During the conference, topics such as the introduction and management of Indonesian migrant workers were discussed in detailed and consensus were reached on a number of issues. The conference ended successfully.

This year’s conference was hosted by Taiwan. Taiwan’s MOL Hsu Ming-Chun, Indonesia’s Minister of Manpower Muh Hanif Dhakiri, Representative of the Taipei Economic and Trade Office in Indonesia Chen Chung (John C. Chen) and Representative of the Indonesian Economic and Trade Office to Taipei Sumedi jointly signed the opening memorandum, and was followed by a discussion between representatives from Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Education, National Immigration Agency, Fisheries Agency and representatives from Indonesia’s Ministry of Manpower, Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers and Ministry of Trade; the discussion was presided over by Taiwan’s Vice Minister Lin San-Quei and Indonesia's Director General of the Ministry of Manpower Maruli.

The conclusions reached in this session are as follows:

• Indonesia proposes a salary raise for migrant domestic workers. After consultation, Indonesia agrees to provide salary adjustment ranges and reasons for adjustments as soon as possible to Taiwan as reference and the issue will be included in work level meetings for further discussion.
• Both Taiwan and Indonesia agree to jointly study and improve measures to track undocumented migrant Indonesian workers and establish liaisons for the discussion of reasons why workers runaway and countermeasures, and agree to strength investigation of and punishments for intermediaries from both countries that over charge workers.
• Indonesia agrees to study letting Indonesian workers participate in overseas Chinese language proficiency tests to enhance the language skills of Indonesian workers.
• Indonesia is reviewing policies and regulations regarding fishing workers and will discuss them with relevant units on the Taiwanese side as soon as the new policies or regulations come into effect.
• Indonesia understands that Taiwan’s Foreign Worker’s Affidavit for Wage/Salary and Expenses Incurred are there to protect the rights of Indonesia’s migrant workers. Indonesia agrees not to arbitrarily modify the content of format of the Affidavit for Wage/Salary and Expenses.

Lin San-Quei, Vice Minister of Labor, expressed his gratitude to the Indonesian government, Director General of the Ministry of Manpower Maruli and the participating organizations for their assistance in making the conference a success. The MOL and relevant ministries will continue to work on the consensus reached between Taiwan and Indonesia and actively plan and promote follow-up issues.

Keywords: Taiwan-Indonesia Labor Conference, Memorandum, Indonesian Migrant Workers

To construct a diversifying portfolio and enhance long term risk-adjusted returns, the Bureau of Labor Funds, BLF for short, will embark on “Enhanced Global Emerging Markets Dynamic Multi-Factor Equity” mandate program, targeted amount of 1.5 billion US dollars. The announcement has been published on the BLF website since 19^th November 2018 and selection procedures are expected to be carried out in 1H2019.

As investment techniques advance, and indexing methodologies evolve, compared with market value weighted ones, more agile and active-bearing smart-beta strategies were constructed and widely recognized by investors globally. For the purpose of better long-term risk adjusted returns than traditional indices, the BLF has designated several different mandate types which factor fundamental, dividend, qualitative, volatility, and value characteristics to global, regional or thematic investment since years ago. The innovation captures capital markets’ interest and by which BLF was awarded several times as annual Institutional Excellence and best innovative from internationally renowned magazines.

The investment plans of funds are emphasized on diversified allocation; to intensify satellite exposures of overseas investment, the objective of new mandate is aimed at emerging market. All components of the designated index are expected to have not only high quality, low risk, and value, but sentiment feature. The latter is mixed with price momentum and earning surprise; as a result, the BLF shall have chances to participate in companies’ growth in terms of stock price or revenue. Above all, of the BLF smart-beta strategies, this is the first time to land in factor timing investing territory.

Specifically, the index will be dynamically adjusted according to market moves in advantages of downside protection and return enhancement. To diversify managers’ style, the program is designed as enhanced investment while expecting the asset managers apply active management with delicate and swift maneuvers to enhance return.

Keywords: Labor Funds, Overseas Investments, Diversified allocation