TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- As of Monday (July 15), a website enabling foreign workers in Taiwan to change their employer and seek new jobs is now available in five languages, announced Taiwan's Ministry of Labor (MOL) on Monday (July 15).

In a statement released Monday on its website, the MOL's Workforce Development Agency (WDA) said that the new website will enable foreign migrant workers in Taiwan to check on the status of their transfer to new employers, seek new positions, and see information about employers who are interested in hiring. The WDA said that in addition to Mandarin, the website also now has English, Indonesian, Vietnamese, and Thai versions.

With the addition of four foreign languages, the site, titled "Information Site of Foreign Workers Rights Defence," can now enable foreign workers to click on the "Migrant Worker Employer Transfer Query." Once a worker fills out the subsequent form, including their passport number, they can check on the status of their transfer to a new employer, as well as see a listing of employers who looking to hire new workers.

According to the current regulations, there are several reasons why a foreign worker may need to transfer to a different employer, including death or emigration of a caregiver, the closure of a factory, the closure of a business, and personal injury. The MOL said that it has set up this system in order to protect the rights of foreign migrant workers and to make it more transparent, and claims that since it was set up, the rate of successful transfers to new employers has reached over 90 percent.

Those who have trouble using the employer transfer query function, can dial the 1955 24-hour hotline for assistance. The 1955 hotline also provides the following services: consultation, complaint, legal aid and information, referral protection and relocation, online real-time interpretation, and other related government agency information.

For more information, visit Information Site of Foreign Workers Rights Defence.

(Screenshot of Philippines version from fw.wda.gov.tw)

(Screenshot of Indonesian version from fw.wda.gov.tw)