The government would not accept the one-sided terms introduced by the Indonesian government aimed at compelling Taiwanese employers to shoulder the costs incurred by some migrant workers before they leave to work abroad, the Ministry of Labor said yesterday.
The Indonesian Economic and Trade Office to Taipei on Wednesday sent a letter to the ministry stating that as of Jan. 1, Taiwanese employers would be required to pay 11 types of fees for Indonesian workers before they depart for Taiwan, Minister of Labor Hsu Ming-chun (許銘春) said before a meeting at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
These include airline tickets, passport/visa fees and the costs incurred by labor brokerages in Indonesia for caregivers, domestic workers and fishers, she said.
However, the letter did not provide detailed information or clearly state how much employers would need to pay when the new terms come into force, Hsu said.
The Ministry of Labor would seek clarification, and remind Indonesia that under bilateral agreements, any changes to prior agreements need to be discussed by both countries, she said.
“If the Indonesian government implements the measures after only a unilateral notification, the Ministry of Labor would not accept it,” Hsu said.
Migrant workers and workers’ rights groups have long complained that employers do not help with any of the pre-employment costs incurred by such workers, but brokers are allowed to collect fees from them, so many workers go into debt to be able to cover the costs of obtaining a contract and visa to work overseas.
Last month the Taiwan International Worker-Employment Relations Harmony Development Association held a rally outside the Indonesian trade office.
The association, made up of many disabled people or family members of those who need care, said that they feared the cost of hiring caregivers would skyrocket if the new fees are implemented and they would not be able to afford to hire migrant caregivers.
The rally was to protest the demands made of Taiwanese employers by the Indonesian government, said Chen Shan-hsiu (陳善修), one of the demonstrators.
Protesters brandished banners and signs that read “Say NO to Indonesian Migrant Workers,” and chanted slogans calling for the Indonesian government to get out of Taiwan.
When asked by reporters who would fill the labor gap if Taiwan decided to stop importing Indonesian workers, Chen said that the government could turn to other Asian countries such as Nepal.
However, the protesters’ signs and slogans angered many in the Indonesian migrant community, with several leaders calling for caregivers and domestic workers to do only the work detailed in their contracts and refuse anything more than that.
Migrants have been urged to change their photographs on social media to an image of a Taiwanese woman breaking down in tears, with the slogan “Say no to work outside the job” as part of an effort to draw attention to the fact that many Indonesian workers are often required to do non-contract work by their employers.
For example, many caregivers are hired to take care of a single patient, but are often told they must do extra work such as cleaning houses, offices and vehicles, said Fajar, an Indonesian community leader affiliated with the Hsinchu Migrant-Immigrant Service Center and Taiwan International Workers Association.
Lennon Ying-dah Wong (汪英達), director of a service center and shelter for migrant workers under the Serve the People Association in Taoyuan, said that it would be extremely difficult to replace the more than 265,000 workers from Indonesia with people from other countries in just a few months.
He urged Taiwanese employers to try and understand the plight of migrant workers and that many have gone into debt because of large and exorbitant broker fees.
As of the end of September, there were 265,553 Indonesian migrant workers in Taiwan, with 194,254 employed in social welfare work, such as caregivers and domestics.
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