The Ministry of Labor is considering lifting a decade-long ban on Vietnamese domestic caretakers in response to an expected decrease in Indonesian migrant workers from 2017.
The plans drew criticism from migrant workers’ advocates, who accused the ministry of evading its responsibility for improving working conditions of domestic caretakers.
A report by the Chinese-language Apple Daily quoted Deputy Minister of Labor Chen I-min (陳益民) as saying that the ban could be lifted by June.
Photo: Wang Jung-hsiang, Taipei Times
His remarks followed earlier comments on introducing workers from Myanmar to mitigate the expected shortfall.
Indonesia’s announcement late last month to gradually stop allowing its nationals to work in Taiwan as domestic caregivers has sent ripples through the nation, as Taiwan relies heavily on Indonesian workers to care for its elderly and disabled people.
As of January, among a total of more than 220,000 domestic caretakers from Southeast Asian countries employed by Taiwanese families, about 170,000 were from Indonesia, accounting for nearly 80 percent.
Vietnamese maritime workers and domestic caretakers were banned by the ministry in 2004 and 2005 respectively, due to a high absconding rate.
Minister of Labor Chen Hsiung-wen (陳雄文) said that occurrences of runaway workers among Vietnamese have decreased since Hanoi introduced stricter punishments last year.
He said the ministry is currently “keeping multiple options” open for new sources of migrant workers to replace those from Indonesia.
Taiwan International Workers’ Association researcher Wu Jing-ru (吳靜如) said that it was “shameful” for Taiwan to ignore demands from foreign governments to protect the labor rights of workers and instead “exploit new sources of cheap labor.”
“We all know that the Indonesian government stopped sending workers because its demands to improve the basic rights of Indonesian workers failed to materialize,” Wu said, adding that foreign caretakers in Taiwan almost never have days off and are required to pay high brokerage fees.
She said many migrant workers absconded because of harsh working conditions and urged the ministry to stop portraying runaway workers as the root of its problems.
Without reforms to guarantee vacation rights and adequate wages, absconding would likely remain common among migrant workers, Wu said, adding that brokerage fees for Vietnamese workers in Taiwan cost up to US$7,000 per person — the most expensive among all migrant worker-providing countries.
Rainfall is expected to become more widespread and persistent across central and southern Taiwan over the next few days, with the effects of the weather patterns becoming most prominent between last night and tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said that based on the latest forecast models of the combination of a low-pressure system and southwesterly winds, rainfall and flooding are expected to continue in central and southern Taiwan from today to Sunday. The CWA also warned of flash floods, thunder and lightning, and strong gusts in these areas, as well as landslides and fallen
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
SOUTH CHINA SEA? The Philippine president spoke of adding more classrooms and power plants, while skipping tensions with China over disputed areas Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday blasted “useless and crumbling” flood control projects in a state of the nation address that focused on domestic issues after a months-long feud with his vice president. Addressing a joint session of congress after days of rain that left at least 31 dead, Marcos repeated his recent warning that the nation faced a climate change-driven “new normal,” while pledging to investigate publicly funded projects that had failed. “Let’s not pretend, the people know that these projects can breed corruption. Kickbacks ... for the boys,” he said, citing houses that were “swept away” by the floods. “Someone has
‘CRUDE’: The potential countermeasure is in response to South Africa renaming Taiwan’s representative offices and the insistence that it move out of Pretoria Taiwan is considering banning exports of semiconductors to South Africa after the latter unilaterally downgraded and changed the names of Taiwan’s two representative offices, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. On Monday last week, the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation unilaterally released a statement saying that, as of April 1, the Taipei Liaison Offices in Pretoria and Cape Town had been renamed the “Taipei Commercial Office in Johannesburg” and the “Taipei Commercial Office in Cape Town.” Citing UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, it said that South Africa “recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the sole