Furloughed workers participating in training program will receive subsidy of up to NT$18,960 per month

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/03/05
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) —Taiwan’s Cabinet on Thursday (March 5) approved a bundle of job security measures proposed by the Ministry of Labor (MOL) to assuage the coronavirus outbreak's impact on the industry, including salary subsidies of up to NT$11,000 (US$360) for furloughed workers, on top of the minimum wage guaranteed to them for three to six months.

The package has a total budget of NT$4.13 billion, aimed to benefit furloughed workers, the unemployed, businesses, and micro-business entrepreneurs, CNA reported.

The package includes NT$1 billion for a salary subsidy program for furloughed employees. The program will guarantee that they are paid 50 percent of their salary loss based on their insured salary, the report said.

For example, a furloughed worker with an insured salary of NT$45,899 would normally receive a minimum wage of NT$23,800, which means they have lost NT$22,099, according to Shih Chen-yang (施貞仰), deputy director-general of the Workforce Development Agency. Therefore, under the program, that worker would receive a salary subsidy equal to 50 percent of their lost salary (NT$22,099), which amounts to NT$1,1000 a month. Furloughed workers will be eligible for this salary subsidy for three to six months.    [FULL  STORY]