The Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit Corporation has long used the slogan "Mass Transit for A Better Life."
Given the recent riots by Thai laborers over their mistreatment at the hands of their employers, this slogan seems somewhat ironic.
"Does it have to be necessary to base our `better lives' on the torture of migrant workers? It shouldn't be this way," Lin Yi-chun (
PHOTO: WANG JUNG-HSIANG, TAIPEI TIMES
The dorm is a distance of about one hour from the city center to Gangshan.
"Given that the Kaohsiung MRT Corporation belongs to the city government and most construction sites are situated within the city, why did the corporation build the dormitory outside the city?" a city government labor official surnamed Wang.
"The corporation's objective was to create a gray area, so that both the city and county governments have difficulties in inspecting the labors' living condition," Wang continued.
Due to the lack of inspections, it was not until the laborers rioted against the management last Tuesday that the inhumane labor practices were exposed.
"I would have liked to file a complaint a long time ago, but I didn't," a laborer told the Taipei Times on condition of anonymity. "Everybody in the dormitory knows the story -- there was a person deported shortly after he asked the management about some details regarding his salary -- and then no one ever dared to complain against the management," he said.
"For example, I hate the board provided, but I never voice my discontent," the labor said. "The meat is not fresh -- sometimes it smells -- and the appearance looks dark. I think they must reuse the cooking oil several times while frying the meat. I don't want to get cancer, so I just go out and get a cup of pearl milk tea and some mantou [steamed buns]."
Aside from the board -- prepaid meals laborers are required to pay for out of their monthly wages -- the firm provides an alternative meal laborers can buy with so-called "coupons." Prior to the riot, the laborers were only allowed to use "coupons" as currency in the dormitory.
Lawon Chaimongkol, a social worker with the Labor Concern Center under the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, showed the Taipei Times the price list for the meals. It showed that a bowl of rice, a papaya salad or a cucumber salad each cost NT$50, while a serving of cold pork or a bowl of beef soup cost NT$100. All the items had to be purchased with coupons.
"The laborers can't afford such meals, which cost two to three times more than those sold outside the dormitory. The surcharge is so unfair. In order to get a sufficient meal, due to the small portion of each dish, it costs a laborer at least NT$200 in coupons for a meal," Lawon said.
Lawon said that items from Thailand such as instant noodles and the like are sold in the dormitory, but are also much more expensive than average.
"What is even more cynical is that none of this stuff is shipped to Taiwan by the corporation. The corporation requires the laborers to carry it for them when they leave for Taiwan. So even though the laborers help the corporation save on transportation costs, they have to pay unreasonably high prices to get the stuff they brought," Lin said.
Taking the Taipei Times on a tour of the dormitory, one laborer, who requested that he not be named for fear of repercussions if his employer learned he was speaking to the media, said that 1,716 people were crowded into four houses made of corrugated iron.
"There are about 400 people lodged in each house when it is fully occupied, with the bunk beds crammed next to each other, leaving only a few narrow walkways for us to pass through. All our personal belongings have to be put under our beds. I can't even sit up straight when I'm on my bed," he said.
"As there is no screen window in the iron house, we have no choice but to close the windows all day to keep mosquitoes out. Nevertheless, once the windows are closed, the ventilation is very bad, as there aren't enough electric fans to make the air move," the labor said.
Wu Hao-jen (
In addition, the dormitory also falls seriously short of sanitary facilities. "There are only three hot water heaters, two of which stop providing hot water after 7pm. There are not enough toilets, so laborers have to fight over the toilets each morning," Wu said. He inspected the Thai workers' dormitory along with the Council of Labor Affairs when the riot happened.
Aside from two billiard tables and two TVs, which are not equipped to receive Thai programs or even local cable stations, there is no leisure equipment provided.
One laborer, who had to spend NT$150,000 (US$4,685) in placement fees when he applied for a job told the Taipei Times that what he can't bear the most is the way the employer manages their wages.
"I can work hard and put up with the bad living conditions," he said.
"However, there are so many penalty clauses -- such as NT$3,000 for using a mobile phone or NT$3,000 for riding a bicycle and so on -- it is really too much."
Without completed infrastructure and training, the expedited sale of new F-16s from the US could become a burden rather than a help, a military official said yesterday. Reuters on Thursday last week reported that Washington is looking to accelerate the delivery of 66 new F-16C/D Block 70 aircraft in response to what it sees as increasing intimidation by Beijing. Under the terms of the original US$8 billion deal signed in 2019, the US is expected to deliver a single-seater and double-seater for testing next year, then deliver the 66 new aircraft in batches of four or five from 2024 to 2026. The officials
TRACING UNDER WAY: The CECC has identified six transmission chains among 25 recently confirmed COVID-19 cases, including those linked to a restaurant and a bank The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 54 new COVID-19 infections — 44 imported and 10 local — and identified six transmission chains among local cases. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said the imported cases are 18 who tested positive upon arrival at the airport and 26 who tested positive during quarantine. Of the local cases, seven are associated with a cluster infection at a Tasty Steak (西堤牛排) outlet in Taoyuan’s Zhongli District (中壢), one is linked to a family of four with COVID-19 reported on Monday, one is a family member of an
BILINGUAL NATION 2030: Those interested can apply online, while recruitment would continue until all of the positions are filled, the Ministry of Education said The recruitment of foreign English teachers for elementary and junior-high schools would be expanded in the 2022-2023 school year as part of Taiwan’s efforts to become a bilingual country, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said yesterday. In a statement, the ministry said that it has since 2004 hired 81 foreign nationals per year to teach English in 16 smaller counties and cities to build a better English-learning environment for students. However, for the 2022-2023 school year, the number of foreign English teachers recruited would increase to 531, with some of them to be posted to Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan
US Representative Mike Gallagher on Friday introduced a bill aimed at increasing Taiwan’s asymmetric defense capabilities to protect against China’s military aggression. Under the proposed arm Taiwan act of 2021, the US would enhance Taiwan’s defenses against a Chinese invasion by allocating US$3 billion every year for a “Taiwan Security Assistance Initiative,” Gallagher said in a statement. The act would make Taiwan’s progress in preparing its military and fielding weapons required to deter an attack by China a condition for conventional arms sales to the nation, he said. “General Secretary [Chinese President] Xi Jinping (習近平) has made unification of Taiwan with the mainland,
RSS