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CLA defends crackdown on extortion of laborers

The Council of Labor Affairs made it clear on Thursday that the ongoing spot-checks on foreign-labor employment services to investigate them for charging illegal and exhorbitant commissions are both legal and well-founded.

"According to Employment Service Law (就業服務法) Article 80 Sub-Article5, the Bureau of Labor Affairs has the right to conduct inspections on employment-service agencies, and this law is to prevent new foreign labor from being extorted," said Liao Wei-Ren (廖為仁), director of foreign labor affairs at the council.

Article 80, Sub-Article 5 states that: A private employment service agency, as well as its employees, shall not engage in demanding, making offers to be fulfilled at a later date, or receiving premiums or any other illegal profits."

Liao made the clarification following recent news reports that employment service agencies had accused council of being unfair. The agencies complained that the council had conducted aggressive inspections and imposed heavy fines on agencies that had overcharged their foreign workers when collecting commission. They also complained that the current legal commission fee of NT$1,800 per worker per month is too little to make a profit.

Employment service agencies reportedly complained that the fine of 20 times of the commission charge is outrageous.

"The purpose of the heavy fine is more to prevent extortions from happening, rather than intending to punish employment service agencies," explained Lai Kuo-Bin (賴國斌), overall planning division engineer and information assistant.

Liao said the law to inspect and fine law-breaking employment agencies has been fruitful.

"Article 80, Sub-Article 5 was amended late last year and has been executed since January this year," Liao said

To date, 13 severe cases of extortion have been recorded by labor authorities around the country," Liao said.

Employment agencies that have returned the illegally collected fees to the their foreign workers have avoided the steep fines, Liao added.
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