With 35,000 foreign workers in Greater Tainan, incidences of wage disputes among foreign workers are often reported. In some instances, Indonesians are being sent to raise pigs. Tainan’s Labor Affairs Department (LAD) is calling on employers to be respectful toward different cultures. Foreign workers’ rights are protected by the law and violators can be subject to prosecution and fines.
The LAD says that according to foreign labor statistics from the Council of Labor Affairs in August this year, among Tainan’s 35,000 foreign workers, 13,600 are from Indonesia, 9,200 from Vietnam, 7,475 from the Philippines and 5,719 from Thailand.
The LAD’s Center for Foreign Labor Consultation Services recently received information from employers of foreign workers that showed how psychological problems have been appearing among foreign workers, such as being in a trance, and suspicions of being followed or murdered. With at least 10 such cases recently, workers and employers have mutually agreed to terminate their contracts.
Photos: Wang Min-wei, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者王敏為
The LAD says that many social problems and negative influences have arisen since Taiwan opened its doors to foreign labor two decades ago, some of which it says consists of conflicts due to cultural differences. For example, most Indonesian workers are Islamic, so they do not consume alcohol or eat pork. Muslims believe that dogs and pigs are unclean animals, yet some Taiwanese employers tell their foreign workers to eat pork or serve food to them with pork in it, some even going so far as to have them help raise pigs, sell pork or raise dogs. Such behavior is disrespectful toward the religious beliefs of foreign workers and violates the Employment Services Act, which is subject to fines between NT$30,000 and NT$150,000.
(Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)
台南外勞三萬五千多人,頻傳因文化不同引發的勞資爭議,例如指派印尼外勞養豬等工作,勞工局籲請雇主尊重不同文化,而外勞相關權益也有法令保障,違反可處罰鍰。
Photos: Wang Min-wei, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者王敏為
勞工局說,勞委會今年八月外勞統計資料,南市外勞總數為三萬五千八百人,印尼籍一萬三千六百零四人、越南籍九千零二人、菲律賓籍七千四百七十五人、泰國籍五千七百一十九人。
勞工局外勞諮詢服務中心最近接到一些雇主反映,指外勞出現精神狀況,有人精神恍惚、有人懷疑自己被跟蹤、還有人懷疑要被殺,最近至少有十起類似案件,勞、雇雙方同意中途解約。
勞工局表示,台灣開放外勞來台工作之後,二十年來發生不少社會問題及負面影響,有些是因為文化不同所造成的衝突,例如印尼外勞信奉伊斯蘭教,不飲酒、不吃豬肉,回教徒認為豬、狗是不潔動物,有些台灣雇主卻叫外勞吃豬肉,或提供含豬肉的伙食,甚或指派從事養豬、賣豬肉及養狗工作,這種行為不但不尊重外勞宗教信仰,還違反就業服務法規定,可處三萬元以上、十五萬元以下罰鍰。
(自由時報記者王涵平)
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