離開
進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Slew of new rules to take effect with the new year
Eggs with traceability codes are pictured in Taipei in an undated photograph. Photo: Yang Yuan-ting, Taipei Times
BETTER PAY: The minimum wage is to rise to NT$25,250 per month or NT$168 per hour so that up to 2.45 million workers across the nation would receive higher paychecks
/ Staff writer, with CNA
Several new regulations are to take effect today, ranging from COVID-19 curbs to traffic measures and the eligibility age for claiming full pensions.
As for COVID-19 curbs, essential workers in some government-regulated industries would need to be fully vaccinated against the disease when they go to work today.
Those employed by or working in institutions under the jurisdiction of the ministries of education, economic affairs, health and welfare, and labor are to be subject to the Central Epidemic Command Center’s （CECC） mandate.
Those who work in funeral homes and correctional facilities would also be subject to the new rule, the CECC said.
People who regularly visit patients at hospitals would need to take a self-paid COVID-19 test once a week, on top of the existing requirement that they take a free test before their first visit, the center said.
However, from next month, all COVID-19 tests would have to be paid for, the center added.
Disposable medical materials, which have been sanitized for reuse, must be approved by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, or be inspected and registered, as stipulated in the Medical Devices Act （醫療器材管理法）, before they can be used.
Starting today, the monthly minimum wage for workers is to be raised by 5.21 percent from NT$24,000 （US$867） to NT$25,250, and the hourly minimum wage is to be lifted from NT$160 to NT$168.
Ministry of Labor figures show that 2.45 million workers would benefit from the monthly and hourly wage increases.
The labor insurance premium rate is to be 10.5 percent, up from 9.5 percent. One percent for employment insurance would be added.
Of the overall 11.5 percent, employers are to cover 70 percent, while 20 percent is to be deducted from employees’ salary and 10 percent would be covered by the government.
From earners of the minimum monthly salary, NT$581 would be deducted monthly from their paychecks, their employer would pay NT$2,033, and the government would cover the remaining NT$290.
The labor ministry is also to prohibit businesses from asking off-duty workers to do “night duty,” such as helping out with office tasks including handling urgent paperwork or answering telephone calls.
Effective today, employees must receive overtime pay for the hours they spend on such work, the ministry said, adding that employers who contravene the regulation could be fined NT$20,000 to NT$1 million, as stipulated in the Labor Standards Act （勞動基準法）.
A tax exemption for electric vehicles is to be extended for another four years until the end of 2025.
A transaction tax cut for day trading, which reduces the tax by half to 0.15 percent, is to be extended for another three years to the end of 2024.
The minimum age for people who wish to claim full pensions under the Labor Insurance program is to be raised from 62 to 63 next year.
The labor ministry is planning to continue raising the eligibility age for the Labor Insurance pension, which was introduced in 2009, by one year each two years until the age of 65, citing Taiwan’s aging workforce.
The age cap would next year be raised to 64 and to 65 in 2026.
The Ministry of Education is to provide an allowance for trainee teachers. From today, each trainee undergoing half a year of practical training in accordance with the Teacher Education Act （師資培育法） can apply to receive NT$5,000 per month for up to six months.
Chocolates with fillings must now contain at least 25 percent chocolate by weight to be allowed to use the word “chocolate” in their name, the Food and Drug Administration has said.
Chocolate products containing more than 5 percent vegetable oil by weight will not be allowed to include “chocolate” in their name, although they could use “chocolate-flavored.”
Eggs are to be required to carry a traceability code on their shell, enabling consumers to more easily identify their source and how the hens producing them are farmed.
The Council of Agriculture has said that the new measure would apply to all washed eggs sold by convenience stores, supermarkets, hypermarkets, wholesale retailers and e-commerce platforms.
Meanwhile, beginning on Aug. 1, the government’s monthly childcare subsidy for parents with children under the age of 5 is to be raised from NT$3,500 to NT$5,000.
Businesses that posted decreases in revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic can apply for government subsidies of NT$1,000 per month for each full-time employee who gets paid monthly and NT$560 per month for each part-time worker paid by the hour for up to six months.
Motorists are to be charged a cleaning up fee of NT$3,000 for removing debris after crashes on freeways, even if the removal of the debris is completed within 30 minutes.
Previously, motorists did not have to pay if cleaning up took less than 30 minutes.
Fees are to increase by NT$3,000 for every 30 minutes spent on debris removal.
If cleaning up the debris affects two-way traffic, the minimum fee would be NT$6,000.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
