BackAfter Israel, this country may hire 1,00,000 Indians. People in these sectors likely to benefit
Taiwan is looking towards New Delhi to address the manpower shortage in key sectors such as manufacturing, including factories, construction projects, household workers,
PremiumAfter Israel showed interest in taking Indian workers, another nation has now shown its interest in doing the same. Taiwan which has tense relations with its neighbour China has shown interest in hiring nearly 100,000 Indians to work at factories, farms, and hospitals as reported by Bloomberg.
A pact with Taiwan doesn’t suggest India is discarding the “One China Policy" — a position that recognizes the island as being a part of China. However, New Delhi hasn’t reiterated that position in public documents and has instead fostered an active unofficial relationship with Taiwan.
Taipei is looking towards New Delhi to address the manpower shortage in key sectors such as manufacturing, including factories, construction projects, household workers, and agriculture and fisheries, the sources claimed.
Notably, overseas workers in Taiwan are eligible to receive the same wage as the local labour, in addition to being provided with similar national healthcare facilities. At present, the per month minimum wage in Taiwan is 26,400 New Taiwan dollars, which is equivalent to is USD 820.
The India-Taiwan jobs pact is now in the final stages of negotiation, Arindam Bagchi, a spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, told reporters on Thursday. Taiwan’s Ministry of Labor didn’t specifically comment on the India deal when contacted by Bloomberg News, but said it welcomes cooperation with countries that could provide it with workers.
A mechanism to certify the health of Indian workers willing to move to Taiwan is still being worked out, people familiar with the discussions said.
Senior officials familiar with the matter told Bloomberg asking not to be identified as the discussions are private. The two sides are expected to sign an employment mobility agreement by as early as December, the people said
The reason behind this mass hiring is attributed to the 'aging society' of Taiwan as by 2025 Taiwan is likely to become a “super aged" society and elderly people forecast to make up for more than a fifth of the population.
However, the employment deal is likely to ramp up geopolitical tensions with China, which opposes any official exchange with Taiwan, a self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own. China is separated from Taiwan by a narrow body of water and shares a Himalayan border with India. It’s also been India’s top source of imports for the past two decades.
In Taiwan, where the unemployment rate dropped to the lowest levels since 2000, the government needs workers to keep the $790 billion economy going. Taiwan is offering the Indian workers pay parity with locals and insurance policies to sweeten the deal, unlike other countries that New Delhi has struck agreements with, the people said.
So far, India’s government has signed agreements with 13 countries, including Japan, France and the UK, and is discussing similar arrangements with the Netherlands, Greece, Denmark and Switzerland, the people said.
Ties between India and China have been tense since a border clash in 2020, the worst-ever in four decades. Both countries have moved thousands of soldiers, artillery guns and tanks to the Himalayan region since then. Diplomatic talks have made little progress with China releasing a new map in August claiming some India-controlled territories.
With Bloomberg Inputs
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