Taiwan Today

The Council of Labor Affairs is providing temporary cleanup and reconstruction jobs in typhoon disaster areas starting Aug. 17. According to the plan, some 200 job opportunities will be offered each day in any of the 42 areas hit hard by Typhoon Morakot when it swept across the island more than a week ago. Workers will receive a salary of NT$100 (US$3.05) per hour for up to eight hours a day. The temporary job plan will run for 14 days, after which the CLA will review the situation to determine whether to extend it. CLA Deputy Minister Kuo Fong-yu said the plan is more flexible than those adopted in the wake of previous disasters. For example, he said, workers this time will receive their salary at the end of each working day, instead of at the end of the month as in the past. The CLA instructed its employment service centers located in disaster areas Aug. 16 to notify local village offices of the work plan. Kuo said that anyone who is unemployed is eligible to apply for the temporary work. However, if more than 200 people apply at any of the local offices, priority will be given to typhoon victims and those living in flood affected areas. Chen Yi-min, director-general of the CLA’s Bureau of Employment and Vocational Training, said that more than 100 people are expected to apply and begin to work Aug. 17 in each of the five areas where the plan will be launched the earliest. The areas include the townships of Madou and Xuejia in Tainan County as well as Zhuqi and Meishan in Chiayi County. Meanwhile, the bureau is also offering vocational training classes in the disaster-affected areas. A total of 13 courses covering the retail, restaurant and tourism sectors as well as logistics, computer software applications, and water and electricity, to name a few, are on offer for a total of up to 360 students. Room and board as well as tuition will be free of charge for those taking part in the courses, according to the bureau. (SB)