The recent US import ban on bicycle manufacturer Giant Group (巨大集團) over alleged forced labor highlights the urgent need for national action against labor abuse, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Fan Yun (范雲) said yesterday.
Speaking at a news conference marking the World Day for Decent Work, Fan urged the government to update its National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights to improve corporate accountability.
The scandal surrounding Giant Group tarnished Taiwan’s international image and was far from an isolated incident, she said, adding that the nation must create legislation to establish and enforce mandatory human rights due diligence standards for businesses.
Photo: Liao Chen-hui, Taipei Times
“Taiwan cannot claim to be a truly globalized nation unless its labor and human rights regulations align with international standards,” she said.
Taiwan Labor Front researcher Son Yu-liam (孫友聯) said a study by the group on Taiwan’s top 500 enterprises revealed widespread ignorance of human rights principles and a high risk of labor contraventions across industries.
Taiwan Association for Human Rights researcher Shih Yi-hsiang (施逸翔) said a recent report by the US government on human trafficking showed that the exploitation of foreign students, deep-sea fishing employees and other migrant workers is a global concern.
Taiwan’s institutions and legal framework governing labor are “fundamentally discriminatory” against foreign workers, resulting in widespread risks of forced labor, Shih said.
He urged the Ministry of Labor to amend existing laws to better protect foreign workers’ rights, including measures to safeguard whistle-blowers from retaliation by employers or labor agencies.
Separately, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Monday said the US sanctions on Giant exposed Taiwanese manufacturers’ failure to observe human rights standards essential for the sector’s global standing.
Many firms in Taiwan’s manufacturing and construction sectors — which rely heavily on high-intensity, low-wage labor — engage in practices that constitute forced labor, the commission said in a statement.
These include forcing migrant workers to pay recruitment fees, excessive work hours beyond legal limits, confiscating identity documents, underpayment, and, in severe cases, sexual exploitation and human trafficking, it said.
The NHRC urged the ministry to give migrant workers greater freedom to change employers, abolish recruitment fees and encourage companies to hire workers directly.
Reducing the role of labor agencies in matching workers with employers would likely lower the risk of exploitation among migrant workers, it said.
It also recommended that the Executive Yuan regularly review and update the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights, which was introduced five years ago.
The Cabinet should assess the effectiveness of existing mechanisms to prevent forced labor, issue clear guidelines for businesses to eliminate exploitation from their supply chains and strengthen legal mechanisms for inspecting migrant labor conditions, it said.
The law should designate the authorities responsible for enforcing labor standards for migrant workers, establish metrics to evaluate policy outcomes and regulatory performance, and systematically educate businesses on international human rights standards, it added.
Taiwanese enterprises should uphold their duty to protect and respect all workers, the commission said.
Greater transparency in publishing the measures being taken to protect labor rights would go a long way toward earning international trust, it said.
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
Quarantine awareness posters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have gone viral for their use of wordplay. Issued by the airport branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, the posters feature sniffer dogs making a range of facial expressions, paired with advisory messages built around homophones. “We update the messages for holidays and campaign needs, periodically refreshing materials to attract people’s attention,” quarantine officials said. “The aim is to use the dogs’ appeal to draw focus to quarantine regulations.” A Japanese traveler visiting Taiwan has posted a photo on X of a poster showing a quarantine dog with a
Taiwan’s coffee community has launched a “one-person-one-e-mail” campaign, calling for people to send a protest-e-mail to the World Coffee Championships (WCC) urging it to redesignate Taiwanese competitors as from “Taiwan,” rather than “Chinese Taipei.” The call followed sudden action last week after the WCC changed all references to Taiwanese competitors from “Taiwan” to “Chinese Taipei,” including recent World Latte Art champion Bala (林紹興), who won the World Latte Art Championship in San Diego earlier this month. When Bala received the trophy, he was referred to as representing Taiwan, as well as in the announcement on the WCC’s Web site, until it
RSS