Labor rights advocates yesterday accused the Chiayi County Government of acting as a “gatekeeper” for the illegal practice of importing foreign farm labor in the guise of caretakers.
Accompanied by labor rights activist Wong Ying-dah (汪英達) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Shu-fen (林淑芬), three Indonesian migrant workers who were previously employed in Chiayi County told a press conference that they were forced to work as farm laborers, despite being told by a brokerage firm that they would work as caretakers for senior citizens.
Migrant workers in Taiwan are restricted to employment as industrial laborers, maritime workers and household caretakers, while a plan to introduce foreign farmworkers has drawn heavy criticism from both labor and rural advocacy groups.
The three Indonesians, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that they worked on a farm together as betel nut pickers for 16 hours a day and received a monthly wage of between NT$7,000 and NT$8,000 after brokerage fees were deducted.
Wong, a member of Greater Taoyuan-based labor group the Serve the People Association, said that the brokerage firm has not been punished, even though the association filed a report on the case in October last year.
Although work at the betel nut farm was terminated, the Chiayi County Government simply sent the workers back to their original brokerage firm, which continued to demand that they engage in other types of farm work, Wong said.
The workers said that at one point they were even ordered to rear pigs on a farm, which they refused to do as it went against their Muslim faith.
The brokerage firm then threw the workers out of their dormitory, leaving them homeless for three weeks before the association took them in at a shelter for migrant workers in Taoyuan, Wong said.
He said that labor inspections were conducted by the Chiayi County Social Affairs Bureau in a hasty and careless manner — often conducted by telephone instead of in person — which failed to make sure that the workers were indeed employed as caretakers.
“The inspection process was ridiculous, and clearly an indication of collusion between business interests and the government,” Wong said.
Wong said the association is currently on working on transferring the registration of the three workers to industrial workers, as it is difficult for male migrant workers to find jobs as caretakers.
Lin said the incident raised questions about organized criminal activity in human trafficking, in which large numbers of male migrant workers are introduced to Taiwan to do illegal farm work.
Since foreign caretakers are usually women, the Ministry of Labor should conduct a thorough inspection of male migrant workers registered as caretakers, Lin said.
A labor inspection on one of the three workers also erroneously documented him as a woman, leading to speculation that the Chiayi County Government was trying to cover up the incident, she added.
Workforce Development Agency Deputy Director Tsai Meng-liang (蔡孟良), who was invited to speak at the press conference, said brokerage firms can be fined up to NT$1.5 million for illegal activity.
He added that the ministry would conduct a thorough inspection of all 1,000 male migrant workers registered as caretakers to prevent illegal employment on farms or other activities.
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS