Pan Shih-wei , the deputy minister of the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) said on 20 August 2011 that noting that many foreign workers move to South Korea to work after gaining nine years of experience in Taiwan. The council is in favor of extending the amount of time foreign laborers are allowed to work in Taiwan. to 12 years
. Meanwhile, several business owners expressed hope to President Ma Ying-jeou during a visit he made in Tainan that the legal minimum wage for foreign workers should be lower than the money paid to local workers.
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Pan said in response that over 100 countries have minimum wages and that none of these countries have different minimums for local and foreign workers.
President Ma Ying-jeou said Taiwan’s inclusion in the visa-waiver programs of 117 countries and territories is a result of the country’s economic strength and its improvements in human rights, and that the country must be fair in terms of wage regulation.
Pan added that if the country were to lower the minimum wage for foreign workers, they would simply go instead to South Korea, Taiwan’s biggest competitor in the hiring of foreign workers. CLA favors an extended stay for foreign workers to 12 years.
