Employers of foreign workers will face heavy fines if they confiscate their passports or other identification documents, the Council of Labor Affairs said in a recent interpretation of labor laws.
According to Article 54 of the Employment Services Act (就業服務法), labor authorities can refuse to issue a permit to hire foreign workers or extend an employer’s permit to hire foreign workers if an employer has ever illegally withheld passports or residence certificates or embezzled belongings.
SECOND CHANCES
Although labor regulations state this clause explicitly, in the past, labor inspectors who received complaints from foreign workers usually gave employers the chance to return the foreign workers’ identification documents, and only issued fines if the employer refused to do so.
The council said the new interpretation is the latest move in a series of changes to the regulation and the management of foreign workers.
Local labor officials will now issue a fine of between NT$60,000 and NT$300,000 to employers who confiscate the documents of foreign workers.
Violators will no longer be able to avoid such fines by returning the documents at the request of the labor bureau, the council said.
DETERRENCE
Employers may also be prohibited from applying to hire foreign workers and be stripped of their foreign worker quotas.
Businesses, such as those in the construction and manufacturing sectors, may apply to hire foreign workers to constitute a certain percentage of their workforces.
There are certain restrictions that apply, such as hiring foreign workers for positions that are difficult to fill with domestic workers.
WORKERS’ RIGHTS
The council said the stricter interpretation of the act came as part of the its increased efforts to protect the labor rights of foreign workers.
Withholding passports or other documents without first obtaining the consent of the worker constitutes limiting an individual’s right to personal freedom, the council said.
In addition to passports, the confiscation of other important personal objects, such as banking documents and personal seals, would also be fined, the council said.
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