By an OGJ correspondent
TAIPEI, June 2 -- Taiwan's Cabinet-level Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) has agreed to revamp existing regulations in order to make it easier for the Formosa Plastics Group (FPG) to acquire the foreign laborers that FPG says are essential if the fourth-phase expansion plan of its Mailiao petrochemical complex is to be completed on schedule.
FPG officials reported that completing the $3.61 billion project by the end of 2005 as scheduled will require 19,000 workers. Taiwan's domestic labor pool, however, will only be able to supply about 12,000 of these.
CLA officials discussing the case said that they are willing to change the rules governing large-scale investment projects to permit the hiring of foreign workers at a 3:7 ratio to domestic workers. Under the new formula, FPG would be allowed to take on 5,700 foreign workers, some 1,300 less than the 7,000 it says it will need.
A number of high-ranking government officials, including Premier Yu Shyi-kun, have indicated that they will lend their support to FPG in its efforts to obtain the foreign workers it needs to complete the project.
When the fourth-phase expansion is completed, the combined annual production of the facility, commonly referred to as the Sixth Naphtha Cracker, will be more than $6.7 billion and will boost Taiwan's gross domestic product by 2.3%.