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Migrant workers at the mercy of government

It is exactly one year since the first Vietnamese migrant workers were deployed in various factories and households in Taiwan. Now representatives of the Vietnamese government in Taiwan are carrying out a Model Vietnamese Overseas Contract Worker Program to promote its labor force to the Taiwanese labor market and to emphasize their determination to keep up the high quality of their workers.

Observers of the Overseas Contract Worker (OCW) industry in Taiwan, may recall one year ago, the media introduced this group of young, energetic and attractive Vietnamese women to Taiwanese society. At present, there are approximately 6,000 Vietnamese employed either in Taiwanese factories or in Taiwanese homes as domestic workers and caregivers. Clearly, Taiwan is a labor-importing nation. This is due to higher educational achievements and the considerable increase in real wages of Taiwanese citizens over the past 20 years; which has created a shortage of workers willing to take employment in the 3Ds sector: Difficult, Dirty and Demanding work. It is well known and accepted that migrant workers from non-industrialized countries are willing to work at lower wages and in less than ideal working conditions.

As a labor-importing country, Taiwan has advantages in negotiating power, which involves playing off labor-exporting countries against each other. The Taiwanese government can and probably has, in the past, pressed labor-exporting countries to accept less than ideal conditions for their citizens who come to Taiwan to work. However, there is now much controversy concerning the well-being and the basic human rights of migrant workers in Taiwan. For example, when migrants workers "escape" from their employment before their contract expires, they are often labeled "runaways." The Taiwanese government rarely asks why these people are running away, reacting with the blanket assumption that they are illegal; once apprehended, they are then very often treated as criminals.

Having worked with migrant workers for many years, it is my observation that most of the "runaway" cases are due to bad treatment from their employers. This includes overwork, psychological and physical abuse, sexual harassment and rape; deduction of high placement fees and dubious, compulsive savings schemes supported by both governments and employers. Often, the migrant worker is left with precious little income to send home; we must remember that many of them have spent a small fortune on placement fees, which is part and parcel of the OCW industry.

These circumstances compel many to run away in search of another job that might give them an immediate cash payment and personal safety. Consider this: it takes the better part of a worker's first year in Taiwan to pay this debt. What happens if a migrant worker is not able to renew the second year's contract extension? The securing of a second year extension is a big part of a migrant worker's financial strategy. Thus, it may not be an exaggeration to state that this is another factor that drives them to run away.

Vietnam, which was economically devastated by its long struggle, is a latecomer in exporting labor to Taiwan and is almost forced by the laws of competition to develop a modus operandi to strengthen ambitions toward entering Taiwan's labor market.

This strategy has several components, the most basic of which is that the individuals who are intent on pursuing overseas employment are required to attend vocational skills training courses, which they pay for themselves, before applying for an overseas job. This is seen as being foundational in securing the quality of the Vietnamese international migrant work force.

The approximate cost of the whole process, both in training and placement fees, is US$3,000. However, there are strict limitations placed on the individual after she or he has secured a job in Taiwan. First, there is a probation period of 45 days and if the employer is not satisfied with their performance they can be sent home. The worker will be the one to shoulder all costs, including the initial US$3,000.

Obviously such a critical decision is open to the abuse of power, based on the employer's whims and prejudices, with no apparent need for clear, provable evidence. This is more sharply brought into focus when considering that the average monthly income of the working class in Vietnam is US$40 to US$60. Clearly the "failure of duty" would condemn such individuals and their families to a lifetime of radical poverty; especially if the money was borrowed at a high interest rate.

Next, in order to guarantee submissiveness and obedience in their citizens who take employment in Taiwan, it appears that the government of Vietnam has adopted a policy of "naming and shaming," those who run away from their employment before the contract expired. This is done by making a public announcement aimed at ostracizing the worker in their home province or town. How deep will this ostracism go? Would the individual be refused employment opportunities in Vietnam once returned home? Would the other family members also be implicated?

Consider the ramifications for a Vietnamese woman who takes employment in Taiwan as a domestic worker or caregiver and is then exposed to an employer who subjects her to various levels of sexual harassment or physical or psychological abuse. Can it really be said that representatives from both the Taiwanese and Vietnamese governments lack the decency that is required to protect these unsophisticated Vietnamese migrant workers from such abuse?

Currently, Chen Chu (陳菊), the chairwoman of the Council of Labor Affairs (勞委會), is visiting Vietnam to negotiate further agreements between Taiwan and Vietnam. I am taking this opportunity to discuss these issues in hopes that the Taiwanese government will not take undue advantage of its position as a labor-importing country; an advantage which will perhaps further push the government of Vietnam to embark upon more ruthless competition strategies in bargaining for bigger quotas for the exporting of their citizens to work in Taiwan.

The author is a member of Sisters of Social Service and currently a PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge, UK.
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