COST OF LIVING/Average monthly earnings of industrial migrant workers down in 2023

Taipei, Jan. 8 (CNA) Foreign contract workers employed in Taiwan's manufacturing and construction sectors earned slightly less in 2023 than in 2022, according to the results of a survey released by the Ministry of Labor (MOL) on Monday.

Migrant workers in the industrial sector had average monthly earnings of NT$32,183 (US$1,039) in June, down by NT$120, or 0.4 percent, from the same period in 2022, according to the survey, which is done once a year in the middle of the year.

The NT$32,183 figure was calculated based on a regular monthly salary of NT$27,284, up NT$1,218 (4.7 percent) from 2022, average overtime pay of NT$4,048, down NT$1,571 (28 percent) year-over-year, and an average irregular bonus of NT$851.

In June 2023, the average number of working hours for industrial migrant workers fell 10.7 hours a month from a year earlier to 192.4 hours. Regular working hours averaged 167.4 hours and overtime hours averaged 25 hours, down 0.2 hours and 10.5 hours, respectively, the MOL said.

Meanwhile, migrant workers serving as domestic caregivers had average monthly earnings of NT$22,638 in June 2023, an increase of NT$2,105 from the same period in 2022, the survey found.

The figure was based on an average regular salary of NT$19,920 and average overtime pay of NT$2,291, which were up by NT$1,959 and NT$156, respectively, when compared with the previous year. It also included an average irregular bonus of NT$427.

Around 86 percent of caregiver employers said they did not specifically set a number of hours their caregiver had to work per day, but regardless of whether or not there was a target, migrant caregivers worked around 10 hours per day on average.

According to the MOL survey, 60.6 percent of surveyed employers said their caregivers took days off during holidays or parts of holidays.

The survey found there were 39.4 percent of caregivers who chose not to take days off, and that 95.1 percent of employers polled said they paid them for such overtime.

The MOL conducted the survey from July to August last year and obtained a total of 8,562 valid replies -- 4,534 from companies in the manufacturing and construction sectors and 4,028 from the employers of foreign caregivers.