TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Minister of Labor Hsu Ming-chun pledged on Thursday (Nov. 16) to propose a plan within the next three months to assist the 330,000 women in Taiwan who have left the workforce to take care of their families.
During a legislative interpellation, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Hung Sun-han noted the government is overlooking these sources of manpower while crying out for more workers, describing it as "an utterly strange situation."
Hsu admitted that a "relatively high" proportion of women in Taiwan have quit their jobs due to family care duties.
Hence, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) is actively promoting various measures, in hopes of helping women juggle both their jobs and family responsibilities.
The DPP legislator further argued that the MOL needs to provide a concrete resolution, such as making the parental leave system more flexible and introducing family care leave.
Hsu confessed that it's a challenging issue but one she is eager to solve. However, she stressed that any proposal must see a general consensus and there are no internal plans yet.
Nevertheless, the labor minister revealed that they have commissioned studies. The findings will be used by the business units for planning and will lead to the MOL's improvement plan within three months.