A labor broker has been fined more than NT$10 million (US$318,000) for illegally charging migrant workers job-placement fees, the highest penalty ever imposed in such a case, the Ministry of Labor said yesterday.
The broker illegally charged “multiple” migrant workers job-placement fees, over-collecting about NT$1 million in total under the guise of end-of-contract transfer or contract renewal fees, ministry official Su Yu-kuo (蘇裕國) told a news conference in Taipei.
“Because the illegal conduct was clear-cut, the local government imposed the [more than NT$10 million] penalty,” Su said, adding that under the Employment Service Act (就業服務法), brokers are allowed to charge employers registration and placement fees, while migrant workers can only be charged service fees.
Photo: Lee Ching-huei, Taipei Times
Under current regulations, service fees are the only charges brokers are legally allowed to collect from migrant workers, capped at NT$1,800 per month in the first year after a worker’s arrival in Taiwan, NT$1,700 in the second year and NT$1,500 from the third year onward.
Charging migrant workers job-placement fees, known locally as “job-buying fees,” falls outside the items permitted under the law, he said.
In addition to the fine, Su said the ministry would also impose a business suspension of up to one year on the broker in accordance with the act.
Asked for further details, Su declined to say how many migrant workers were affected or their nationalities, and did not identify the broker or say whether it had a prior record of violations.
By searching the Workforce Development Agency database of private employment service institutions, CNA found that a Taichung-based broker was fined NT$12.7 million by the Taoyuan City Government on Nov. 25 for a violation that appeared to match the case described by Su.
Su gave no clear answer when asked whether the more than NT$1 million in over-collected fees had been refunded, saying he would “need to look into that detail.”
The ministry official said the ministry launched an investigation into the broker after receiving complaints from a civic group alleging the company had illegally charged migrant workers fees.
He did not provide details on when the complaints were filed, how long the investigation took or when enforcement action was taken, saying only that the case occurred “in recent months” in response to CNA’s questions.
So far this year, 10 brokers have been found to have illegally overcharged migrant workers and been fined by local governments, Su said.
He added that the authorities have conducted more than 2,200 inspections targeting such violations this year and plan to carry out 2,500 inspections next year.
Urging brokers to comply with the law, Su also said migrant workers who are asked to pay job-placement fees when seeking to switch employers should call the ministry’s 1955 Hotline for advice or to file a complaint.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS