Taipei, Sept. 4 (CNA) Several organizations representing migrant workers petitioned the Ministry of Labor (MOL) on Monday to end Taiwan’s “exploitative” labor broker system and replace it with a system solely based on direct hiring between governments.
The groups, including the Taiwan International Workers Association (TIWA), the Catholic Hsinchu Diocese Migrant Worker Service Center and Caritas Taiwan, made the demands during a rally outside MOL headquarters in Taipei.
At the demonstration, TIWA noted that even before coming to Taiwan, migrant workers have to pay a fee of NT$80,000 (US$2,508) to NT$200,000 to an employment broker in their home country.
After arriving in Taiwan, the workers must continue paying “service fees” of up to NT$60,000 over the course of a three-year contract, even if no actual services are provided, TIWA said.
The groups said that although brokers in Taiwan had lost business after 2016 — when the government repealed a rule requiring migrant workers to leave and re-enter the country at the end of a three-year contract — they have since found new ways to make profits.
Because many government-run employment centers do not offer help in foreign languages, migrant workers frequently have no choice but to pay brokers illegally inflated fees of NT$20,000-NT$90,000 for job-matching services, the groups said.
Those who refuse to pay the fees may be unable to find work, and, fearing deportation, often choose to abscond and find work illegally, the groups said.
In a statement responding to the protest, the Labor Ministry said Taiwan’s current system offers employers a range of ways to bring migrant workers to Taiwan, including through the use of its “Direct Employment Joint Service Centers” or by engaging a broker.
In addition, two NGOs have already taken advantage of a government policy waiving the paid-in capital and security deposit requirements for groups seeking certification as “nonprofit employment service organizations,” the ministry said.
As for the issue of brokers charging exorbitant fees, the statement said employers or migrant workers with proof of illegal behavior by brokers can file reports either with the MOL or local labor authorities.
If the accusations are validated, the broker can be fined under the Employment Service Act, and, at most, even have their license suspended for a year, the MOL said.
According to the “Standards for Fee-charging Items and Amounts of the Private Employment Service Institutions,” private brokers can charge foreign workers in certain sectors — namely the fishing industry, domestic helpers and caregivers, and those in designated industries carrying out major construction projects or working to meet economic/social development needs — service fees to help them find jobs.
The service fees charged by the brokers cannot exceed NT$1,800 per month in the worker’s first year in Taiwan, NT$1,700 per month in the worker’s second year, and NT$1,500 per month from the worker’s third year on, the regulations state.
