The Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) applauded steps taken by Indonesia to address concerns about its migrant workers in Taiwan, but said it would retain its ban on Indonesians for the time being.
"There is no timetable for the resumption of importations. We have to wait and see whether the Indonesian government's proposal is working," said Kuo Fang-yu (
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
The press conference followed negotiations with an Indonesian employment affairs delegation.
Five Indonesian officials, including a director from Jakarta's Department of Manpower and Transmigration met with CLA officials to discuss the importation embargo that took effect Aug. 1. They offered a proposal in response to the council's three main complaints -- workers running away from their employers, brokerage agencies submitting false documents and high brokerage fees.
The delegation said Jakarta's requirement that employment brokers collect a refundable bond of NT$3,000 per month on its behalf had been dropped in September.
Council regulations prohibit such bonds and officials cite the bond requirement as a main reason for the high rate of abscondence among Indonesian workers. Council statistics show that 2,804 of the 5,089 foreign workers who absconded last year were Indonesians and 3,320 of the 7,785 workers to have fled this year are Indonesians.
The delegation said the standard brokerage fee had been reduced from NT$82,435 to NT$66,000.
The delegates also promised to introduce a system to monitor documents submitted to the Taipei Economic and Trade Office in Jakarta in a bid to crack down on forgeries. They said brokerage agencies found to have forged documentation or knowingly supplied false information will be shut down.
The council requires every foreign laborer to sign an employment document issued by Taiwan's representative office in their country before they start work. Council officials say 66.7 percent of such employment documents are based on false information.
Supono, vice chairman of the Indonesian Economic and Trade Office to Taipei, told reporters that yesterday's negotiations were very successful, but as for when Indonesian workers would be allowed to be imported again, his government "would have to respect the council's decision."
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
Fast food chain McDonald's is to raise prices by up to NT$5 on some products at its restaurants across Taiwan, starting on Wednesday next week, the company announced today. The prices of all extra value meals and sharing boxes are to increase by NT$5, while breakfast combos and creamy corn soup would go up by NT$3, the company said in a statement. The price of the main items of those meals, if ordered individually, would remain the same. Meanwhile, the price of a medium-sized lemon iced tea and hot cappuccino would rise by NT$3, extra dipping sauces for chicken nuggets would go up
Yangmingshan National Park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) nature area has gone viral after a park livestream camera observed a couple in the throes of intimate congress, which was broadcast live on YouTube, drawing large late-night crowds and sparking a backlash over noise, bright lights and disruption to wildlife habitat. The area’s livestream footage appeared to show a couple engaging in sexual activity on a picnic table in the park on Friday last week, with the uncensored footage streamed publicly online. The footage quickly spread across social media, prompting a tide of visitors to travel to the site to “check in” and recreate the
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
RSS