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Kaohsiung MRT project could face labor shortage

With some of the Thai laborers working on the construction of the mass rapid transit (MRT) system in Kaohsiung due to return to their home country tomorrow, the project could face a labor shortage, Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp (KRTC) officials said yesterday.

The officials said the KRTC employs 1,398 Thai laborers, but 171 of them will leave tomorrow as their two-year contracts have been completed. By the end of this year, a total of 580 of the laborers will have left the country.

As the construction of the MRT system is now entering the track-laying stage, officials expressed concern that a labor shortage could delay the completion of the construction project beyond October next year.

Contractors have also complained about the labor problem and asked the KRTC to hire additional foreign laborers. However, the company is reluctant to do so as a result of the labor riot that occurred last August amid allegations that a management company contracted by the KRTC was mistreating workers.

During the riot, more than 1,000 Thais protested what they claimed was inhumane treatment by Huapan Administration Consultant Co -- their management company. KRTC deputy general manager Chu Fu-chiang (朱賦強) said in April that KRTC's contract with Huapan was rescinded last September and that the Kaohsiung city and county governments would help Thai laborers fight court cases that arose as a result of the labor riots.

Tseng Ching-lung, a Kaohsiung County official in charge of foreign workers, said he had inspected dormitories at Kangshan, Fengshan and Kaohsiung almost daily since last September and had seen great improvements in both food quality and living conditions accorded laborers.

Following last year's riot, which led to the uncovering of a corruption scandal involving a former close aide of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), the KRTC has stopped importing foreign labor, and has instead sought to hire local laborers. These have proved to be in short supply, and the company has "borrowed" laborers from other sectors.

KRTC officials said that priority would be given to finding laborers to work on the line between Kaohsiung International Airport and a downtown department store, which is scheduled to open in October.
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