The provisions of the Labor Standards Act that worker and employer can negotiate to extend the compulsory retirement age became effective from August 2, 2024. Workers who continue to work after the age of 65 can continue to participate in labor insurance. If those workers later resign and withdraw from insurance, they can claim labor insurance old-age pension. The current Labor Insurance Act provides the following protections:

The labor insurance old-age pension can be received as long as the worker lives. The longer the accumulated years of coverage and deferred payment, the greater the monthly and final pension amounts. This helps workers ensure their economic security as they grow into old age.

Keywords: Labor Insurance Old-age Benefits, Deferred Pension Benefits, Deferred in Claiming Old-age Pension

Labor pension plays a crucial part in ensuring the economic security of workers in old age. According to the Labor Pension Act, in addition to the employer's monthly pension contribution of no less than 6% of the employee's salary, the employee can also voluntarily contribute to his or her own retirement benefits within the range of 6% of the monthly salary. According to statistics from the Bureau of Labor Insurance (BLI), the number of workers who have made voluntary contributions by the end of July 2024 has reached a record high of 1,145,997, accounting for 15.15% of the total number of contributions and highlighting the fact that an increasing number of workers are paying greater attention to the economic security of their retirement life.

If workers participate in voluntary pension contributions as early as possible, the longer the payment period will result in a higher pension amount the worker can ultimately receive. From this perspective, students engaging in part-time work or fresh recruits embarking on their careers are all recommended to participate as early as possible. Furthermore, employers who actually engage in labor work, self-employed operators, commissioned workers, and workers to whom the Labor Standards Act does not apply can also voluntarily contribute to their pensions within the range of 6% of their monthly wages or business income.

Workers can choose to convey their intent to make voluntary contributions to their employer either in person or in writing. Their employer will then forward the request to the BLI, collect the voluntary contribution amount from the employee every month, and pay it to the BLI. The voluntary contribution rate for labor pension can be adjusted up to twice a year, and contributions can be suspended at any time by asking the employer to forward the request to the BLI.

Workers who voluntarily contribute to their labor pensions will be able to not only establish good savings habits early in their careers and increase the accumulated amount of their personal pension accounts, but also participate in the distribution of investment income every year. When the time comes to claim their benefits, they will be entitled to a guaranteed rate of return calculated to be not less than the 2-year time deposit interest rate of local banking institutions. Furthermore, as a tax credit, voluntary pension contributions should not be included into the gross salary income of the year when filing tax returns.

Keywords: Voluntary Contributions, Increased Pension and Benefits, Tax Benefits

Taiwan's team at the 47th WorldSkills Competition was personally led by Minister of Labor Ho, Pei-Shan. The team won 2 gold, 3 silver, 10 bronze medals and 28 medallions for excellence, for a total of 43 medals. Minister Ho expressed special thanks to the national experts and team members, as well as the schools and businesses for their full support of the national team's training and for providing the best logistical support, allowing the young Taiwanese competitors to use their skills to make their mark in the world. Their performance will also serve as an important launching pad for Taiwan as it hosts WorldSkills Asia Competition 2025.

This year's WorldSkills Competition was held in Lyon, France from September 10 to 15, 2024, with competitors participating from 69 countries. Taiwan sent 58 competitors to participate in 50 categories of the competition. They displayed their excellent skills among many great competitors, winning a total of 43 medals, for a win rate of 86% and a rank of 4th globally. This was Taiwan's best performance in the last three competitions. These achievements are due to the efforts of the national skills competitors and the resources provided by many parties, including the training plan for the competitors, the payment of nutrition subsidies, and the arrangement of physical, psychological, and language courses. In addition, for the first time this year, counselors and nurses accompanied the team to provide its members with mental and physical health support. Minister Ho also personally led the team to boost morale, bringing together people from all parts of society, competitors, and training teams to devote themselves to achieving even greater success on the international stage. The Ministry of Labor (MOL) is expected to award about NT$13.3 million in bonuses to our winning competitors. The MOL will also provide other rewards such as exemption from examinations for various levels of skill certification as well as supplementary military service, with the aim of encouraging competitors' dedication and efforts.

Minister Ho said that with the active efforts of the MOL, Taiwan has obtained the right to host the 2024 WorldSkills Asia General Assembly and WorldSkills Asia Competition 2025. The MOL aims to learn from the experience of participating in this year's WorldSkills Competition and enhance technological exchanges between Taiwan and the world through the WorldSkills Asia Competition to be held in Taiwan 2025. The MOL's efforts will further strengthen the global competitiveness of Taiwan's technical and vocational talent, inspiring more young people to invest their efforts in vocations while injecting more diverse and innovative energy into Taiwan's industrial development.

Keywords: 47th WorldSkills Competition in Lyon, France, Taiwan Skills Once Again Achieves Great Results, WorldSkills Asia Competition 2025 in Taiwan

The 9th Taiwan-Philippines Joint Labor Conference (JLC) was held in Batangas City, Philippines on August 14, 2024. The conference was the first bilateral meeting at the ministerial level with the labor minister of the source countries of foreign workers since Minister of Labor Ho, Pei-Shan took office. It is also the first time that the Philippine Department of Migrant Workers has hosted a bilateral joint labor conference, symbolizing a new beginning for labor cooperation between the two countries and laying the foundation for mutually beneficial cooperation.

At the Taiwan-Philippines JLC, the two sides discussed many issues, including renewing the memorandum of understanding on Special Hiring Program for Taiwan, expanding the selection of workers for the Direct Hire "Project Worker Selection", and recruiting and retaining intermediate skilled workers. Important matters on which a consensus was reached by both parties at the 9th Taiwan-Philippines JLC include:

This Taiwan-Philippines JLC achieved many important results. With the consensus reached by both sides, Taiwan and the Philippines will continue to actively plan and promote subsequent matters.

Keywords: Taiwan-Philippines Joint Labor Conference, Expanding the Scope of Direct Recruitment of Migrant Workers, Retaining Intermediate Skilled Workers

Minister of Labor Ho, Pei-Shan personally led a group from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Center for Occupational Accident Prevention and Rehabilitation (COAPRE) in a visit to the Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (a double-accredited hospital) to observe its excellent service performance. Through their visit, they called on workers with occupational injuries and diseases who need diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation to take advantage of the services and resources provided by the government to workers affected by occupational accidents, allowing them to receive professional assistance.

Minister Ho said that every worker who suffers an occupational accident bringing unexpected trauma not only to themselves but also to their entire family. The government has the responsibility to minimize these damages so that workers can alleviate the pain of occupational accidents and return to work as soon as possible. The Ministry of Labor has established a safety net for workers suffering from occupational accidents. Each accreditation of hospital for diagnosis, treatment of occupational injuries and diseases, and professional occupational rehabilitation institutions for workers suffering from occupational accidents can provide integrated services for workers suffering from occupational accidents, from the treatment of injuries and illnesses to occupational rehabilitation, allowing workers a smooth return to work. In addition, Minister Ho also expressed her gratitude to the Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, which has been committed to the prevention and treatment of occupational injuries and illnesses since 2007, for its many years of service to workers. After the implementation of the Labor Occupational Accident Insurance and Protection Act, the hospital has earned double accreditation. Not only has it accumulated an abundance of service experience, it has also assisted many workers who have suffered occupational accidents to successfully return to work.

During the visit, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital introduced its integrated service methods and diagnosis and treatment for injury and diseases. It also invited a clinic nurse who was hurt by a car accident while commuting to work at the beginning of 2023 to share the process from the occurrence of the occupational accident to the return to work. The nurse had suffered severe fractures on multiple parts of her body in the accident. After the acute medical phase, the nurse was assessed by the occupational medicine department for suitability to return to work and actively participated in enhancing physiological and psychological therapy. In the end, in less than a year, the nurse was able to return to the original position—a successful case of returning to work. In addition, Minister Ho also visited the occupational rehabilitation center in the hospital to know its service and process for occupational rehabilitation. While there, she showed concern for the workers suffering from occupational accidents who were receiving enhancing physiological and psychological therapy and encouraged them to actively participate so that they could recover as soon as possible and return to the workplace.

Keywords: Diagnosis and Treatment of Occupational Injuries and Diseases, Occupational Rehabilitation, Labor Occupational Accident Insurance and Protection Act

The Ministry of Labor (MOL) held an APEC-Workshop on Advancing Occupational Safety and Health for the Workforce in Green Energy Sectors on September 3, 2024, to which it invited experts and scholars from the United States, Thailand, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Peru, and other economies, as well as representatives of international labor organizations. Experts and scholars in the field of occupational safety and health in Taiwan jointly shared exemplary cases and experiences on occupational safety and health risk trends, as well as countermeasures, in the promotion of the green energy sectors.

The workshop opened with speeches by (the then) Deputy Minister of Labor Wang, An-Pang and Human Resources Development Working Group (HRDWG) Lead Shepherd Zhao Li. Also invited was Lead Shepherd of the APEC Energy Working Group Ariadne BenAissa and Representative of the Commercial Office of Peru to Taipei Fernando Manuel Albareda Del Castillo, who both delivered pre-recorded remarks.

(The then) Deputy Minister Wang said that with the rising awareness of sustainable development, APEC economies are actively promoting net-zero and low-carbon transitions. Although the development of the green energy sectors can help promote environmental sustainability, it still involves occupational safety and health risks and may expose the health of workers to harm. Secondly, the International Labor Organization (ILO) has included occupational safety and health in its Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, which clearly demonstrates the importance of occupational safety and health. Therefore, it is anticipated that the results of today's workshop can help conceive an up-to-date and inclusive plan, which will lay a good foundation for promoting occupational safety and health in the green energy sectors, thereby promoting more cooperation opportunities among APEC economies.

Deputy Director-General of the MOL's Department of General Planning Hsieh, Ching-Yun pointed out in his closing remarks that through the discussions and exchanges in this workshop, we can understand the proactive measures and best practices adopted by economies such as Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Peru, and Taiwan in addressing occupational safety risks in the green energy sectors. In the future, relevant policy recommendations and best practices will be formulated based on the discussions from today's workshop. These will serve as references for APEC economies in promoting the green energy sectors, with the aim of creating a higher quality and safer working environment.

Keywords: Occupational Safety and Health, Green Energy Sectors, APEC