India, Taiwan sign MoU to bring Indian workers to tide over labour shortage – Hindustan Times Feedzy

The MoU was signed during a virtual ceremony by Manharsinh Laxmanbhai Yadav, director general of the India Taipei Association or India’s de facto mission in Taiwan, and Baushuan Ger, head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in New Delhi.

The pact will strengthen bilateral labour cooperation and was signed after years of discussions, Taiwan’s labour ministry said in a statement. Taiwan will initially seek Indian workers with good English proficiency on a small scale, and if the results of the MoU are good, the openings will be gradually increased, the statement said.

The two sides will hold follow-up discussions to complete procedures and convene working-level meetings as soon as possible to discuss details such as industries in which Indians can be employed, the number of jobs, source regions in India for migrant workers, qualifications for employment, language skills, and recruitment methods, the statement said.

According to the terms of the MoU, the Taiwanese side will decide the industries and number of Indian migrant workers to be employed. The Indian side will recruit and train workers according to Taiwan’s needs and the employment will be in accordance with laws and regulations of both sides.

Taiwan’s labour ministry will submit the MoU to the Legislative Yuan or the unicameral legislature for review in accordance with a law on concluding treaties. The labour ministry will also hold a working-level meeting with the Indian side to discuss details regarding the implementation of the MoU, the statement said.

India and Taiwan finalised most of the procedures for the mobility and migration agreement by late last year, people familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity. However, there was a hitch as the two sides had to complete certain procedures for medical tests to be done for migrant workers and also align their migration databases, the people said.

Once these hurdles were overcome, the two sides inked the MoU on Friday, the people added.

Taiwan’s labour ministry said once all the preparatory work is completed, India will be announced as a new source country of migrant workers in accordance with the law, and employers will be free to employ workers according to individual needs.

Explaining the reasons for the signing of the MoU, the labour ministry said Taiwan had been affected by an ageing population and low birth rate, which had resulted in the working-age population and grassroots labour force shrinking sharply. The shortage of workers in manufacturing, construction, agriculture and other industries has continued to expand, and the demand for caregivers and migrant workers too is increasing.

The approved source countries for migrant workers in Taiwan are Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. Employers’ associations have been calling on the Taiwan government to address the “risk of restricted source countries for migrant workers”.

A majority of members of the Legislative Yuan have requested that the government should actively develop emerging source countries for migrant workers.

Taiwan’s labour ministry noted that Indian workers are “stable, hard-working and have good reviews”.

Countries such as Germany, Italy, France, states in the Middle East, Singapore and Malaysia are actively seeking or expanding the employment of Indian workers. “Indian workers are mostly engaged in construction, manufacturing, housework and agricultural work overseas, which meets Taiwan’s demand for migrant workers,” the statement said.