The Control Yuan yesterday censured the Tainan City Government and Ministry of Labor (MOL) for inadequate supervision of the illegal employment and mistreatment of two Kenyans trafficked into Taiwan in 2022.
The Kenyans were officially employed as arts and performing arts workers, but ended up doing farm work and cleaning jobs, the Control Yuan said, adding that their employer took their identification documents and did not pay them in full.
After the Kenyans called a hotline for help in 2023, the Tainan Labor Affairs Bureau reached out to the employers to inform them of the complaint, it said.
Photo: Hsieh Chun-lin, Taipei Times
The Kenyans were interviewed, but their employers were in the room and were allowed to act as “interpreters,” it added.
The bureau closed the case, saying that the workers “did not protest.”
Control Yuan members Chi Hui-jung (紀惠容) and Yeh Ta-hua (葉大華) criticized the city government for misinterpreting the regulations and conducting an inadequate investigation.
The Control Yuan also censured the ministry for not properly scrutinizing the Kenyans’ employment contracts.
The company acting as an agent between the two parties was not registered as an employment service agency, making its recruitment of the two Kenyan workers “a clear breach of the Employment Service Act (就業服務法),” it said.
The ministry was also unaware that the company did not provide labor insurance and labor occupational accident insurance until the Control Yuan investigated the case, showing gaps in its management.
Chi and Yeh said the labor ministry should reinforce regulations, and work with the Ministry of Culture, the National Immigration Agency, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and local governments to better protect the rights of foreign workers and prevent human trafficking.
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