CLA to allow 20,000 foreigners to work at local "3K" industries

This article was published by the Taiwan Headlines on August 31, 2006. It reports that the government is preparing to grant permission for 20,000 foreign workers to work in Taiwan's industrial sector, particularly in the "3K" industries, in 2006. The term "3K" commonly refers to those sectors where work is "dirty", "dangerous", or demands "hard labor".

Earlier in 2006, the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) already granted approval for 12,425 foreign workers to work in "3K" manufacturing industries around Taiwan. Permission for 7,575 other foreign workers is expected to be given later in 2006, beginning on September 1.

According to the CLA, the 7,575 prospective foreign workers will be allowed to work in 20 "3K" sectors. These include mold manufacturing, manufacturing of fire-retardant materials, the food refrigeration industry, organic fertilizer processing, papermaking, garment manufacturing, and the stone carving and processing industry.

Applications can be filed between September 1 and 30, 2006. Screening of the applications is expected to be completed by the CLA by the end of 2006, so that the foreign workers can begin work in Taiwan in early 2007.

Taiwan has not allowed new foreign workers into the country's manufacturing industries for the past several years, in a bid to protect the interests of domestic workers.

However, following a request from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the CLA decided in August 2005 that 20,000 foreign workers would be allowed into Taiwan in 2006 for certain manufacturing jobs in 19 industries. The 20,000 quota would be allocated in two phases at a ratio of two foreign workers for every three domestic workers in the "3K" industries. The 2:3 worker format should be implemented for one year on a trial basis.