Starting on January 1, 2021, the monthly Basic Wage (Minimum Wage) was adjusted from NT$23,800 to $24,000, and the hourly Basic Wage (Minimum Wage) was adjusted from $158 to $160.

The purpose of the Basic Wage (Minimum Wage) is to protect the basic livelihood of workers and to ensure they have sufficient purchasing power. Wages are earned by workers in exchange for the labor they provide. The amount is determined through negotiations and agreements between the employer and employee, but must not be lower than the Basic Wage (Minimum Wage).

Under the new regulations, the monthly wage for monthly-paid employees must be no less than NT$24,000, and the hourly wage for hourly-paid employees must be no less than NT$160. Day laborers, on the other hand, must receive no less than NT$160 times the number of hours worked within regular working hours. For example: If a day laborer is contractually obligated to work 8 hours, their daily wage must be no less than NT$1,280 (NT$160 x 8hr = NT$1,280).

In addition, the Basic Wage (Minimum Wage) of workers who fall under Article 84-1 of the Labor Standards Act shall be increased proportionately. Take security personnel in the security industry for example. If both employer and employee agree that the employee shall be paid monthly to work 240 regular work hours per month, their monthly salary must be no less than NT$30,600. If both parties agree on an hourly wage, the worker should receive a minimum of NT$160 times the number of approved monthly regular work hours.

For details on how to calculate Basic Wage (Minimum Wage), please refer to the Ministry of Labor website at Homepage/Citizen Services/FAQ/Labor Standards Act/Wages/Wage-Related Regulations for Workers Under Article 84-1 of the Labor Standards Act (e.g. Security Personnel in the Security Industry).

Keywords: Basic Wage (Minimum Wage), Workers under Article 84-1, Hourly Wage

The Middle-aged and Elderly Employment Promotion Act was set by the Executive Yuan to take effect on December 4, 2020.

In response to the aging population and low birth rates, as well as the constant decline since 2015 of the working-age population, people aged between 15 to 64, and the labor force participation for those aged 55 and above, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) formulated Middle-aged and Elderly Employment Promotion Act, which was announced by the president on December 4, 2019, and designated by the Executive Yuan to take effect on December 4, 2020.

The Middle-aged and Elderly Employment Promotion Act is the first law in Taiwan aimed at protecting the labor rights of middle-aged and senior citizens, with provisions prohibiting employers from using age-based discrimination against middle-aged and senior employees or employment seekers from age-based discrimination. In addition, in order to encourage middle-aged and senior workers to stay employed, the ministry will provide enhanced measures, such as job accommodation and providing vocational training and entrepreneurship guidance to help employed, unemployed, and retired middle-aged and senior workers pass on their wisdom and experience, and promote communication and cooperation between generations. Also, in consideration of the needs of workers 65 years of age and older, the legislation relaxes requirements for employers to hire senior workers 65 years old and above on regular contracts. This increases flexibility for the employer and the employee. Subsidies will also be used to increase incentives for employers. In particular, the ministry will integrate resources from the central and local governments to promote services for older workers, establish senior worker service locations or bases to advocate for the employment and delayed retirement of middle-aged and senior workers, develop short-term, temporary, and part-time work opportunities, and establish a database of retired talent to promote the rehiring of retired workers.

With this act, the MOL aims to establish a friendly employment environment to protect the labor rights of middle-aged and senior workers, calling on companies to appreciate and leverage the valuable experiences and knowledge that middle-aged and senior workers have to offer. The government also hopes that this act will prompt enterprises to promote mutually beneficial partnerships with middle-aged and senior workers to strengthen cross-generational cooperation in the workplace and enhance national competitiveness.

Keywords: Regulations for Middle-Aged and Senior Citizens, Middle-Aged and Senior Citizens, Senior Citizens

Workers with labor insurance who suffered an occupational accident and had their labor contract and insurance terminated during the medical treatment period may apply to continue participating in ordinary labor insurance until they reach the age when they are entitled to claim old-age benefits, to ensure their old-age and relevant benefits.

The Ministry of Labor (MOL) states that, according to Article 30 of the Act for Protecting Worker of Occupational Accidents and other relevant regulations, workers with labor insurance who suffered occupational accidents and had their labor contract and insurance terminated during the medical treatment period for said accidents, may apply for the renewal of their insurance coverage through labor groups, their original insured unit, or directly through the Bureau of Labor Insurance. Those who have renewed their coverage based on previously mentioned regulations may apply for occupational accident benefits for their occupational injuries and resulting illnesses to strengthen the protection of their basic quality of life.

Reminder from the MOL: Workers who suffered occupational accidents may apply for the renewal of their insurance coverage based on the aforementioned regulations within 5 years of the termination of their labor insurance coverage during treatment for said accidents. The relevant procedures and documents can be found and downloaded from the Bureau of Labor Insurance website.

Keywords: Occupational Accident, Continuing Insurance Coverage

Guest speakers include (from top left to bottom left): Vice Minister of Labor San-Quei Lin, MOFA Director-General of the Department of International Organizations Bob L. J. Chen, and New Zealand Commerce and Industry Office Director Moira Turley, (top right) APEC HRDWG Lead Shepherd Park Dong Sun, (bottom right) APEC LSPN Coordinator Zaki Zakaria.

The 2-day APEC Conference "On the Impact of Digital Age on Social Security Protection" on Dec. 8, 2020 was held in Taipei through a hybrid event. Taiwan has always been actively involved in the work of the Labor and Social Protection Network (LSPN) of the APEC Human Resources Development Working Group (HRDWG). Though the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the labor market in the Asia-Pacific region, Taiwan has continued to promote the advancement of labor and social protection issues in the region.

Dr. Park Dong Sun, Lead Shepherd of APEC HRDWG, Dr. Zaki Zakaria, the coordinator of APEC LSPN, and Ms. Moira Turley, director of the New Zealand Commerce and Industry Office, were invited to deliver opening remarks at the conference. They encouraged member economies to conduct more in-depth exchanges on labor market and social security issues to help APEC economies promote labor and social security protection in the face of the digital age and the transformation of future work.

HRDWG Lead Shepherd, Dr. Park Dong Sun, commented that the way this conference was held, through a hybrid event, is a milestone for future APEC conferences during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. New Zealand Commerce and Industry Office director, Ms. Moira Turley, praised Taiwan's COVID-19 response and reiterated New Zealand's 2021 APEC host year priorities of "resilience, sustainability, and inclusion", as well as overall discussions regarding the impact of the pandemic on the labor market. APEC LSPN Coordinator, Dr. Zaki Zakaria, also commented on how this conference reflects the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the coming of the digital age, and how APEC economies should still pay attention to social security issues during the digital age and the transformation of future work.

The conference echoes the 2020 Kuala Lumpur Declaration issued by APEC leaders, emphasizing the promotion of inclusive economic participation through digital economy and technology, as well as how the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the digital transformation of future work. Taiwanese and foreign experts and scholars were invited to give lectures in person or through video calls, which were focused on discussions about social security protection and encouraged member economies to have more in-depth exchanges regarding these issues, thereby strengthening the regional social security protection ties among the APEC economies.

Keywords: APEC, Human Resources Development, Labor and Social Protection

Left: Labor Minister Hsu Ming-Chun (left) gifts a copy of the elementary school level game "Our Future Jobs" to Lihu Elementary School Principal Tsai Su-Hui; Right: Group photo of Minister Hsu Ming-Chun, Lihu Elementary School Principal Tsai Su-Hui, teachers, and students there to play the board game.

On November 18, 2020, Minister of Labor Hsu Ming-Chun attended the labor education board games launch event at the Taipei Municipal Lihu Elementary School to introduce 3 board games designed to teach students about labor rights at the elementary school, junior high school, and high school levels. The games are produced and distributed in schools nationwide in hopes that students will gradually develop a good understanding of labor rights through playing with them.

The Ministry of Labor (MOL) stated that promoting diverse labor education to help citizens acquire a positive understanding of labor issues from a young age has always been an important part of its labor policies. Over the years, the ministry has promoted labor education by organizing plays and musicals in schools and distributing picture books. In 2020, for the first time, the ministry developed labor education board games that students can play in classrooms. These games include "Our Future Jobs", a game for elementary school students that introduces different industries, their importance, and how each industry contributes to society, "Part-time Work and Play around the Island", a game for junior high school students about the dangers of employment scams and labor laws, and "Mars Resort", a game for high school and vocational school students about building partnerships between labor and management to cooperate and implement labor protection.

The MOL explained that they invited experts in board game design to create games for different education levels. Labor and education experts were also invited to participate in the creation process. Elementary school, junior high school, high school, and graduate school students and teachers were consulted as designers continuously tweaked their designs to make the three games easy to play and learn from, as well as conveying proper labor knowledge through educational entertainment.

Lastly, the MOL stated that ensuring citizens have proper labor knowledge is a never-ending task and that they will make the most of their limited resources to promote relevant projects. Reminder from the MOL: Teaching handbooks and video materials can be found at labor-elearning.mol.gov.tw. Teachers and students can refer to the website to learn more about how to play the games.

Keywords: Labor Education Board Games, Diverse Labor Education, Educational Entertainment

On the first workday of 2021, Minister Hsu Ming-Chun lead a team from the OSHA and the New Taipei City Government Bureau of Labor to conduct labor inspections on an investment construction project in the Linkou District, New Taipei City and announced the start of the Construction Accident Prevention Year.

Construction is a high-risk industry. Concerned about construction labor safety, Labor Minister Hsu Ming-Chun led a team of OSHA and New Taipei City Government labor inspectors on the first workday (January 4) of 2021 to inspect four large construction sites in New Taipei City's Linkou District. The minister also announced that 2021 will be Construction Accident Prevention Year, demanding that institutions implement construction safety management procedures and strengthen health and safety facilities to prevent occupational accidents.

According to the Ministry of Labor (MOL), the number of workplace fatalities in the construction industry rose to 168 in 2019. As of December 27, 2020, that number has fallen to 142, but it is still the highest of all industries. The main reasons include the implementation of the Forward-Looking Infrastructure Development Plan and other major public infrastructure projects, as well as an influx of overseas Taiwanese businessmen returning their investments to Taiwan, which caused a massive increase in the number of construction projects nationwide. Some construction projects may lack or have improperly managed health and safety facilities, causing the number of major workplace accidents to go up. The MOL has required the OSHA to review occupational accident prevention mechanisms in the construction industry, not only by promoting strategies to prevent construction occupational accidents such as risk evaluation management mechanisms and the incorporation of IT and outside resources, but also helping the construction industry establish an occupational health and safety management system to reduce the risk of occupational accidents. In order to continue to reduce the number of occupational accidents in Taiwan, the MOL named 2021 the "Year of Construction Accident Prevention", increasing the government's capacity to supervise and inspect construction projects and proactively punish lawbreakers to fully implement the regulations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and reduce occupational accidents.

Minister Hsu emphasized that "respect for life" is a universal value, "safety first" is the core of construction, and people's lives cannot be measured on a monetary scale. The goal of labor inspections is to make sure businesses follow the Occupational Safety and Health Act, but it is still up to project owners and construction companies to self-manage and audit their implementation of occupational health and safety mechanisms to prevent occupational accidents from occurring. The minister also called for public infrastructure and investment construction project owners to work with the MOL to reduce occupational accidents, strengthen the audit of construction sites, and supervise construction companies to implement construction health and safety management procedures to ensure the workers' safety and create an accident-free workplace.

Keywords: Construction Accident Prevention Year, Occupational Accidents, Health and Safety Management