Labor groups urge migrant workers be placed under newer pension system

Taipei, March 18 (CNA) Several labor groups on Wednesday urged the Ministry of Labor (MOL) to place all migrant workers under the newer pension system during a protest against a new measure that the ministry said will allow greater access by migrant workers to the pension scheme.

Gathering outside the ministry in Taipei, groups including the Taiwan International Workers' Association (TIWA) criticized the planned measure set to take effect on April 1, under which employers will be required to place all blue-collar migrant workers who have worked for them for 10 years or more under the older pension system.

According to the MOL, employers will be required to enroll eligible migrant workers in the older pension system, under which they must contribute 2-15 percent of each worker's monthly salary to a pooled labor retirement reserve fund rather than an individual account.

The planned measure expands the application of the older pension system to migrant workers, but labor groups said the eligibility criteria, including a requirement that they must remain with the same employer for over a decade, means that pension benefits will still be largely out of reach for most migrant workers.

TIWA official Wu Jing-ru (吳靜如) said many migrant workers are employed in the industrial sector and "often see their contracts expire or are transferred to new employers," making it difficult for them to remain with the same employer for 10 years.

Wu also warned that some employers might "legally end a worker's employment" before they become eligible under the new measure in order to avoid having to make labor pension contributions.

The groups called on the government to extend the newer pension system, which has been in place for Taiwanese workers since 2005, to all migrant workers, including domestic caregivers and domestic helpers, so they can be treated the same as local employees.

The newer system requires employers to contribute at least 6 percent of a worker's monthly wage to an individual pension account instead of a pool fund.

Responses from MOL, employers' group

In a statement, the MOL did not explain why it opted to apply the older system - which has more rigid eligibility rules than the newer one and is being gradually phased out for local workers - to migrant workers.

It said instead that migrant workers are covered by the older system and can claim retirement benefits if they meet the legal requirements, arguing that "their rights are the same as those of local workers covered by the older system."

Meanwhile, the International Association of Family and Employers with Disabilities, an employers' group, said if the system is made mandatory for all migrant workers, it will directly raise care costs for households.