Labor brokerage agencies demonstrated in front of the Council of Labor Affairs yesterday, protesting a recent cut to fees they are allowed to charge foreign workers.
Previously, agencies were allowed to charge as much as NT$80,000 for foreigners seeking jobs in Taiwan. On Nov. 9 the fee system was revamped, leaving brokerages with roughly NT$20,000 less.
"The council should immediately revoke its new rules," Chang Tien-yung (張添勇), president of the Manpower Agencies Association, said yesterday. Chang said the council's new policy threatened to sink the labor brokerage industry.
But the labor affairs council has said the cuts still leave enough money on the table for brokerages to operate.
Kuo Feng-yu (郭芳煜), head of the council's employment and vocational training administration, described the reduction in fees yesterday as "reasonable."
The council also promised to meet with brokerage agencies in a month's time to review the new policy, but that failed to satisfy protesters. A few demonstrators attempted to break into the council's offices.
The labor affairs council in October said it would be changing foreign labor rules, allowing employers to charge as much as NT$4,000 monthly for food and accommodation. To help offset the difference, brokerage fees were revamped so that foreign workers would have to pay less.
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