Overseas workers need rights
About 100 migrant workers, including overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), joined a rally dubbed "Autumn Struggle" organized by local labor unions on Nov. 10 in Taipei.
Local workers criticized the government's labor policy, saying it is one-sided or favorable to employers. Migrant workers supported the rally because they want the government to stop the implementation of a wage-cut policy for foreign workers. They believe that the policy will contribute significantly to the unemployment rate.
Migrant workers also backed the rally because they are feeling the jealousy and anger of local workers who don't now how long they will keep their jobs.
In some factories, foreign workers outnumber Taiwanese because employers prefer to have foreign workers to avoid higher labor costs.
We sympathize with the cry of local workers for we know they also have to support the needs of their family.
The Philippine government, through the Manila Economic Cultural Office (MECO) should do something to avoid larger problems in the future. It is time for MECO to renegotiate the wage cut policy in order to help uplift the lives of every OFW.
Under the new policy, many OFWs only receive NT$4,000 to NT$5,000 a month from their basic salary of NT$15,840 because of deductions for food and board, brokers fees, taxes, health insurance and others. The amount left is not enough to live on in this country where the cost of living is sky high.
This time, OFWs are begging MECO officials to stand firm and fight for the interests of the so-called "modern hero" of the Philippines.
If we are not mistaken, MECO was created to protect the interest of OFWs against unfair labor laws and greedy brokers and employers. OFWs cannot in anyway just go to the streets and protest injustice because they have limited rights.
It is ironic and sad to hear many OFWs complaining that "justice is far from reality if a case is brought to MECO."
Why is this happening? I'd rather keep my mouth shut for every OFW who knows the answer.
Ed Comia
Taoyuan
Follow the American way
Lee Chia-tung's (李家同) article about middle school students giving up the study of English was thought provoking ("Low-income students are crying out for our help," Dec. 5, page 8).
Education agencies feel a need to justify their existence by "protecting" citizens from educational malpractice. They trust academic institutions that issue diplomas and degrees, which other academic institutions recognize as real.
That tactic is marginally successful. It also precludes good teachers from teaching, if they have neither the time, the finances, nor the inclination to become certified and otherwise tested and evaluated by government-recognized authorities.
One of the results of this tactic is to inflate the cost of education by the amount the potential teacher has to pay for his preparation. That cost is further inflated by what institution must pay to the government for permission to operate and by the amount of the taxes paid to fund the protection the education ministries claim to provide.
Americans have found a partial solution to this problem, in the form of private Christian day schools operated by and in churches, or else the parents sometimes opt to teach their own children at home. Twelve percent of America's school-aged children do not attend government-recognized schools. They win national spelling bees and math contests and there is no need to to drug dealers and gunfights.
It seems to me that Asian parents need to learn how to imitate the courage of American parents who tell the government to stay out of their children's lives. Such parents could form associations among themselves to see to their own children's education and make contracts with teachers to secure the services they want for their children.
If education ministries in Asia are serious about providing equal access to quality education for all of their citizens, they should stop trying to protect established educational institutions from competition from generally better, and less expensive, non-certified teachers.
Del Graven
South Korea
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