Taipei,Sept.5,2012--In response to the invitation of the Council for Economic Planning and Development(CEPD),foreign firms in Taiwan have suggested the government incorporating foreigners working in Taiwan into the labor pension system and relaxing restriction on their undertaking of side jobs,so as to attract high-caliber foreign staffers to work in the nation.
A CEPD official noted that in order to attract foreign talent working in Taiwan,the government should create a friendly environment and put forth more convenient measures for the life and work of foreigners in the nation.
As a follow-up measure to the"talent cultivation,retention,and solicitation"program,the CEPD invited foreign firms in Taiwan to offer proposals for the"creating a friendly environment for foreigners in Taiwan"plan.
Foreign firms suggested the CEPD to make more effort in improving the general environment,including the aspects of work,education,and living environment.For practical affairs,the government should incorporate foreigners into the labor pension system and lift the ban on foreigners taking side job in Taiwan.
Wu Min-chi,vice minister of the CEPD,noted that inclusion of foreign white-collar workers into the labor pension system has the significance of policy announcement,capable of encouraging foreign white-collar workers to work in Taiwan for a long time.The Council of Labor Affairs(CLA)has agreed to study the feasibility.He admitted,though,the proposal may not be achieved in a short time,since abrupt inclusion of foreigners into the labor pension system may cause chaos in the system,which has just hit the road for a few years.
In view of the difficulty for the offspring of foreigners to study in Taiwan,the Ministry of Education reported that it will coordinate the National Science Council for expanding the bilingual section of the experimental school in science park and push cooperation between domestic universities and renowned foreign universities in launching a joint education system.
The CEPD reported that it has coordinated with related government agencies to address the problem of different coding of the residential certificates of foreigners and the identification cards of local people,which has caused difficulty for foreigners in applying for cash card,undertaking online shopping,and taking medication at hospitals.
A CEPD official expressed that there are 28,000 foreign white-collar workers working in Taiwan,a number which is fewer than other countries.In recent years,Taiwan has suffered serious talent drain and the government needs to formulate a whole set of"talent solicitation and retention"program to cope with the problem,not just removing individual difficulties of foreigners working in Taiwan,according to the official.
