On Oct. 21, 2016, the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment, spearheaded by Democratic Progressive Party legislators Lin Shu-fen (林淑芬) and Wu Yu-chin (吳玉琴), to Article 52 of the Employment Service Act (就業服務法). The two lawmakers assured everyone that, after the bill was passed, employers would no longer face a wait when hiring migrant workers, and migrant workers would no longer run away.
In reality, the result has been that the wait to hire foreign workers has increased, while the number of runaways has risen by more than 60 percent from more than 50,000 to more than 80,000.
Runaway foreign workers who are working illegally not only seriously affect the rights and interests of local workers, but also cause social security problems that cannot be ignored.
The 80,000-plus runaways account for more than 11 percent of the total number of foreign workers in Taiwan.
While lawmakers are avoiding the problem, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, has proposed a ridiculous policy of granting a “time-limited amnesty” for runaway foreign workers and letting them return to legal employment without being punished.
As a former director-general of the National Police Agency, Hou should be well aware that more than 80,000 illegal foreign workers roaming the nation can have a significant impact on social order and even cause a national security crisis, yet he is willing to put everyone at risk.
His proposed policy is ill-conceived and would be ineffective.
The social and national security problems arising from so many runaway workers, as well as nearly 100,000 stateless and unregistered children, should not be ignored.
However, the Ministry of Labor’s Workplace Development Agency, which is responsible for migrant labor policy, offers no effective solutions.
When questioned in the legislature, agency Director-General Tsai Meng-liang (蔡孟良) was at a loss for words and could not put forward any solutions, instead shifting the responsibility onto employers, and domestic and foreign labor brokers, calling for severe penalties for brokers.
His response was disappointing.
When employers and labor brokers bring foreign workers to Taiwan, the Ministry of Labor demands that migrant workers’ rights and interests be protected. It says they should be treated like Taiwanese and not be discriminated against.
However, although the government’s employment service stations refer at least 1 million Taiwanese workers to employers each year, several hundred thousand leave their jobs after less than a month.
How many stations have been penalized for these workers “running away”? How many officials have been penalized?
Tsai’s remarks discriminate against brokers and are therefore unacceptable.
It would not be difficult to solve the problem of migrant workers running away. The examples of Singapore and Hong Kong show that this problem can be solved by cutting it off at the source.
Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) must solve the problem without delay. Chen should instruct the Ministry of Labor to amend the law to severely penalize illegal foreign workers, illegal employers and illegal brokers, thus cutting off options for illegal foreign workers.
This is the only way to curb the rise of runaway migrant workers and solve the national and social security problems.
Steve Kuan is a former chairman of the Taipei Employment Service Institute Association and the New Taipei City Employment Service Institute Association.
Translated by Julian Clegg
China has started to call Tibet “Xizang” instead of Tibet for several reasons. First, China wants to assert its sovereignty and legitimacy over Tibet, which it claims as an integral part of its territory and history. China argues that the term Xizang, which means “western Tsang” in Chinese, reflects the historical and administrative reality of the region, which was divided into U-Tsang, Amdo and Kham by the Tibetans themselves. China also contends that the term Tibet, which derives from the Mongolian word Tubet, is a foreign imposition that does not represent the diversity and complexity of the region. Second, China wants to
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) had engaged in weeks of political horse-trading between high-ranking officials, hoping to form a joint ticket to win January’s presidential election, but it all ended in a dramatic public falling out on live television on Thursday. The farcical performance involving mudslinging and quarrels among three men — the TPP’s candidate and Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), the KMT’s candidate, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co founder Terry Gou (郭台銘), an independent — and their aides in the evening before the official candidate registration deadline
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) might be accused of twice breaking his promises and betraying the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), then launching a signature drive for himself to stand as a candidate in January’s presidential election, only to turn around and quit the race. It clearly shows that rich people are free to do as they like. If that is so, then Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) is the perfect example of a political hack who changes his position as easily as turning the pages of a book. Taiwanese independence supporters
On Nov. 15, US President Joe Biden reiterated the US’ commitment to maintaining cross-strait peace and the “status quo” during a meeting with Chinese dictator Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in San Francisco, California. However, Biden refrained from making clear to Xi what Taiwan’s “status quo” exactly is (as the US defines it). It is not the first time Taiwan’s legal status has become an issue of contention. In September, Tesla CEO Elon Musk caused a media storm after he referred to Taiwan as “an integral part of China” during an interview. This ignorance about
RSS