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Updated Wednesday, September 17, 2008 9:45 am TWN, CNA

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CLA plan to help foreign spouses find employment

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- The Council of Labor (CLA) recently announced a set of measures to assist the growing number of foreign and mainland Chinese spouses of Taiwan nationals in finding employment.

According to CLA tallies, the number of foreign and mainland Chinese spouses in Taiwan has surpassed the 407,000 mark, with many of those facing difficulty in their job searches due to cultural and language barriers.

The new measures implemented by the CLA are aimed at helping foreign spouses who have obtained permanent residency as well as Chinese spouses who have received residency as well as work permits in Taiwan.

Under the new program, employers who have employed a foreign or mainland Chinese spouse for at least three months can apply with the CLA employment service office in the jurisdiction where they are located for a subsidy of NT$10,000 per month per spouse employed or NT$10 per hour for part-time workers.

The measures also stipulate that if a CLA employment service office cannot find employment for a foreign or mainland Chinese spouse within 14 days of them registering with the office for job search assistance, the office is required to find temporary employment for the registered spouse at a nonprofit organization.

The office must also pay the registered spouse’s salary of NT$100 per hour for up to 176 hours per month for a maximum of six months, according to the new regulations.

At the same time, unemployed foreign and Chinese spouses who undergo job training offered by a CLA employment service office can apply for a living subsidy amounting to 60 percent of the national minimum wage for a maximum of six months.

Besides the new set of subsidy measures, the CAL has also launched service in four foreign languages, namely Vietnamese, Thai, Indonesian and English, on its eJob Web site to give foreign spouses easier access to information on job opening qualifications, employment search services, job skills certificates and exams, and training programs.

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