The Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) yesterday announced it plans to suspend new applications for foreign labor imports by Formosa Plastics Group in the wake of the this week's riots.
Hundreds of Thai and Filipino laborers fought with rocks, pipes and gasoline bombs during an eight-hour long clash at the group's Sixth Naphtha Cracker site in Mailiao, Yunlin County until early Monday morning.
In response to the incident, CLA officials said yesterday the riot had disrupted social stability and Formosa Plastics Group -- employer of these guest workers -- had violated related regulations set forth by the Employment Service Act.
Chang Chun-chi (
"Until the complex improves its management of foreign workers, the door for Formosa's application for foreign labor import is closed," he said.
Three Filipino workers found directly responsible for initiating the fight were deported Monday afternoon after the CLA revoked their work permits, citing violations of the Employment Service Act, Chang added.
While the CLA officials investigating the riot returned from Mailiao yesterday, results of the investigation will not be made available to the public until a written report is produced, Chang added.
In dealing with the aftermath of the case, CLA officials said the council would enforce relevant laws to prevent similar clashes from happening.
One of the suggested measures is to launch a three-month inspection into workplaces where foreign workers are hired, to check whether employers have by law recruited enough manpower to supervise these guest workers.
According to regulations, violators can face a variety of punishments, including cancellation of their foreign labor import permission.
Critics voiced various opinions on the CLA's measures.
Cheng Chih-yu (
"For employers, they normally try to minimize their cost in managing foreign workers. But the CLA has to keep an eye on these firms very closely. Otherwise it's difficult to prevent similar clashes from occurring," he said.
DPP Legislator Chien Hsi-chieh went further, suggesting a more "humane" method to the management of foreign workers.
"In places like Formosa's Mailiao complex, where more than 18,000 foreign workers are employed, social workers should be available to attend to the psychological needs of these workers," he said.
While many responded passively to the "panacea" approach suggested by the CLA, one professor, Liu Chin-hsin (劉進興), of the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, and a former DPP legislator with a long history as a veteran labor movement activist, dismissed the council's approach.
"The CLA's measures are useless. If we continue to treat foreign workers as second-rate people in our society -- by keeping them in confined spaces, similar riots will still be unavoidable," Liu said.
He said a better solution is to reduce the import of foreign workers.
"Otherwise, while foreign labor imports to the island help big firms reduce costs, it is our society that is paying the price when such clashes break out," he added.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
‘NARWHAL’: The indigenous submarine completed its harbor acceptance test recently and is now under heavy guard as it undergoes tests in open waters, a source said The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, yesterday began sea trials, sailing out of the Port of Kaohsiung, a military source said. Also known as the “Narwhal,” the vessel departed from CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard at about 8am, where it had been docked. More than 10 technicians and military personnel were on deck, with several others standing atop the sail. After recently completing its harbor acceptance test, the vessel has started a series of sea-based trials, including tests of its propulsion and navigational systems, while partially surfaced, the source said. The Hai Kun underwent tests in the port from
RSS