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."
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