By Caribbean News Global 
TORONTO, Canada – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of Taiwan, the ministry of labor, the Taipei Office of the American Association in Taiwan (AIT/ T), the Japan Taiwan Exchange Association (JTEA) and the Slovak Economic and Cultural Office jointly implemented the “Global Cooperation and Training Framework-Economic Recovery in the Post-COVID-19 Epidemic Period” September 9 – 10: “Future Work” (2021 GCTF Virtual Conference on the future of work in a post-COVID-19 economic recovery) online international seminar.
“Due to the rapid changes in the global labor environment caused by the COVID-19 epidemic, all countries believe that it is necessary to take actions to meet the challenges, to facilitate the exchange of experiences among countries as a reference for policy formulation,” MOFA added. “This is the first international seminar organized by GCTF on labor issues. For the first time, the ministry of labor of my country and the US department of labor is deeply involved in the planning and implementation of the event, and Slovakia is invited to co-organize the GCTF.
The ministry of labor, Society and Family of Slovakia, the director of the European Employment Strategy Department, Ľubica Růžičková, served as the keynote speaker. In addition, minister of foreign affairs Wu Zhaoxie, Secretary of Labor Xu Mingchun, Deputy Secretary of International Affairs of the US.Department of Labor Thea Lee, representative of Japan Taiwan Exchange Association (Izumi Hiroyasu), and representative of Slovakia in Taiwan (Martin Podstavek) all recorded in advance. Sandra Oudkirk, Director of AIT/T, gave the closing speech.
Approximately 110 officials and experts in charge of labor issues from 27 countries including the United States, Japan, and Slovakia attended the seminar online. Through the GCTF dialogue platform, officials and experts from various countries exchange experiences, share laws and regulations and the principles of policy formulation, and work together to respond to the new normal of the post-epidemic “future work”.
“The protection of human rights and the improvement of the labor environment are expressly enshrined in my country’s Constitution. The Chinese government is also committed to improving working conditions for workers to comply with international standards. Taiwan has also adopted a diversified approach to contribute to labor governance, and established regular dialogues or exchange visits with countries such as the United States, the European Union, the Philippines, and Indonesia. In addition, we also use multilateral mechanisms such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Human Resources Development Working Group, to discuss labor issues of concern to all APEC economies,” said foreign minister Wu Zhaoxie.
Meanwhile, NT$160 billion (US$5.78 billion) budget was submitted to the legislature for review in accordance with Article 11 of the Special Act for Prevention, Relief and Revitalization Measures for Severe Pneumonia with Novel Pathogens. The COVID-19 relief program is designed to protect the people of Taiwan while stimulating the domestic economy amid the pandemic.
