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CHAPTER 3: RUNAWAY INDONESIAN WORKERS
In analyzing foreign runaway workers, the perspective from the foreign workers themselves needs to be taken into account because they are the main actors in this particular phenomenon. This chapter strives to explore the reasons that Indonesian workers run away by conducting surveys in Taiwan’s National Immigration Agency’s (NIA) Detention Centers in Nantou (南投移民署收容所), Hsinchu (新竹移民署收容所) and Yilan (宜蘭移民署收容所), as well as interviewing the Indonesian and Taiwanese representatives who deal with them. The purpose is to describe this particular phenomenon comprehensively from the workers’ perspective.
Previous scholarly studies highlighted the excessive placement fees ( 仲介費) as the major reason for foreign workers running away. After conducting the surveys and focus group studies with Indonesian and Taiwanese representatives, I found that an uncomfortable work environment is the major reason for Indonesian workers to run away, with higher wages offered in the illegal labor market as a secondary cause.
This chapter begins by describing the research categories used to build the distributed questionnaire that was sent to the Indonesian workers, based on previous scholarly research and articles addressing runaway foreign workers. The second section explores the surveys’ results with runaway Indonesian workers in Taiwan’s NIA Detention Centers in Nantou, Hsinchu and Yilan. This section is expected to provide the primary data on the reasons that cause Indonesian workers to run away.
The third section will be exploring the issue of runaway Indonesian workers from the perspective of Indonesian and Taiwanese representatives. The Indonesian Workers’s Joint Task
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Force (Satgas TKI)111 and Indonesian local staff at the Indonesia Economic and Trade Office (IETO) in Taipei represent the Indonesian representatives, while the Taiwanese Bureau of Labor Affairs, Taiwanese NIA staff, and St. Christopher’s church in Taipei represent the Taiwanese representatives.
RESEARCH CATEGORIES
The phenomenon of foreign workers is classified as a migratory action, as they are moving from a sending state to a host state. Indeed, many scholars have addressed the issue of migration, particularly on the reasons that trigger people to migrate. Even though many theories are proposed to explain such phenomena, they all have one thing in common; that most migration occurs to gain an economic benefit. Stephen Castles, for instance, proposed a neoclassical theory which emphasizes the individual’s decision to migrate based on a rational comparison of the relative costs and benefits of remaining at home or moving.112 On the other hand, the new economics of labor migration proposed by J. Edward Taylor argues that migration is a collective decision of the family rather than of the individual, with the main focus of increasing the family’s welfare through the remittances that the workers send back home.113 In summary, the movement of foreign workers to the host states is triggered by an economic gain in the form of wages. This perspective is supported by the research conducted by Professor Tsay
111 Satgas TKI was established based on IETO’s Chief Decree No. 07/KDEI/SK/IV/2014. According to that decree, Satgas TKI has the responsibility to: (1) provide counseling to Indonesian workers; (2) receive the Indonesian workers’ complaints; (3) follow up Indonesian workers’ complaints or problems; (4) gather and cultivate data, as well as monitor settlement of cases; and (5) provide reports.
112 Stephen Castles and Mark J. Miller, “Theories of Migration”, in Age of Migration: International Population Movements in the Modern World, 4th ed, (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009), p. 22.
113 J. Edward Taylor, “The New Economics of Labour Migration and the Role of Remittances in the Migration Process”, International Migration Vol. 37 (1), 1999, p. 64.
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Ching-lung on Thai workers in Taiwan.114 He argues that less-educated Thai workers who live in rural areas are motivated to search for jobs overseas in order to improve their economic position and social status by receiving higher wages than their work in Thailand.
Indeed, economic benefit is perceived as the main reason foreign workers run away from their employers. This perception was stated by the Taiwan government in the Third Joint Working Group Meeting between Indonesia and Taiwan in 2013.115 Several scholars have attempted to analyze the reasons workers run away more thoroughly, such as Joseph S. Lee and Lan Pei-chia.
In his article, The Role of Low-Skilled Foreign Workers in the Process of Taiwan’s Economic Development, Joseph S. Lee argues that a limited contract time and a large referral fee are the main reasons that cause foreign workers to run away.116 Furthermore, he argues that the size of the referral fee makes it difficult for the foreign workers to save enough money during the limited two-year contract. At the same time, their main purpose of working in Taiwan is to provide better living conditions for their family back home, which can be realized if they successfully save wages. Therefore many foreign workers decide to run away from their employers when their contract expiration date draws near.
On the other hand, Lan Pei-chia argues on her article, Legal Servitude and Free Illegality: Migrant “Guest” Workers in Taiwan, that the tight control as well as excessive placement fee (仲介費) are the main reasons that cause foreign workers to run away.117 She then argues that the current Taiwanese guest worker policy has placed foreign workers in the low
114 Tsay Ching-lung, “Labor Migration and Regional Changes in East Asia: Outflows of Thai Workers to Taiwan”, Southeast Asian Studies, Vol. 40 No. 3, December 2002, p. 377-378.
115 7th Joint Working Group Taiwan-Indonesia in Labor Issue, Taipei, November 29th, 2013, p. 32-33.
116 Joseph S. Lee, “The Role of Low-Skilled Foreign Workers in the Process of Taiwan’s Economic Development”, in Migrant Workers in Pacific Asia, ed. by Debrah A. Yaw, (London: Frank Cass Publishers, 2002), p. 57-59.
117 Pei-chia Lan, “Legal Servitude and Free Illegality: Migrant “Guest” Workers in Taiwan”, in Asian Diasporas:
New Conceptions, New Frameworks, ed. by Rhacel Parrenas and Lok Siu, (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2007), p. 271-273.
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levels of society. Therefore they are unable to negotiate on an equal basis with their employers regarding their working conditions, be they working hours, job descriptions or recess/holiday time. While the runaway workers are able to enjoy ‘free illegality’ in the underground economy, such as being able to arrange their working schedules, or choose their own employers or their desired jobs.118 This is widely known among foreign workers themselves. Therefore, when foreign workers encounter with difficult situations in their legal working environment, many of them are tempted to run away in the hope of obtaining flexibility in their working environment, which they have failed to secure in their legal work.
In addition, recent research conducted by IETO in Taipei on Indonesian runaway workers acknowledges the aforementioned factors as the supporting reasons that cause foreign workers to run away. They argue that those variables emerge due to incomprehensive information dissemination during the pre-placement phase.119 If the Indonesian workers are well-informed regarding their rights and obligations, job description, placement fees (仲介費), and regulations on labor issues in Taiwan, particularly on the protection procedure, the number of runaway Indonesian workers can be diminished. Furthermore, this incomprehensive information dissemination has created false expectations among the Indonesian workers regarding their working conditions. Therefore, when reality is not in accordance with their expectations, many Indonesian workers decide to run away from their employers.
Taking into account previous scholarly research, this thesis employed five categories in conducting the survey, which were: type of work, holiday/recess time, wages, placement fees, and information dissemination. Those categories are defined as follows:
118 Ibid.
119 Rangga Aditya et al, “Fenomena “TKI Kaburan” di Taiwan: Sebuah Studi Eksplorasi”, (Taipei: Indonesian Economic and Trade Office, 2014), p. 39-45.
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1. Type of Work: the type of work for blue-collar foreign workers in Taiwan includes crew members of a vessel, marine fishing/netting work, household assistants, and work designated by the Ministry of Labor in response to national major construction project(s) or economic/social development needs. This is stated on the job contract (Taiwan’s Employment Service Act 1992 as amended in 2013, Article 46).
2. Holiday/Recess Time: a worker is entitled to at least one regular off-day every seven days (Taiwan’s Labor Standard Act 1984 as amended in 2013, Article 36).
3. Wages: the remuneration which the worker receives for his/her services rendered, including wages, salaries and bonuses, allowances and any other regular payments regardless of the name. They may be computed on an hourly, daily, monthly, or piecework basis, and are payable in cash or in kind (Taiwan’s Labor Standard Act 1984 as amended in 2013, Article 2).
4. Placement fees: fees incurred by processing the employment and imposed on the candidate of migratory work, which cover: (1) passport fees; (2) medical and psychology check-ups; (3) training fees; (4) work visas; (5) accommodation and meals during pre-placement and training; (6) ticket fees and airport tax; (7) local transportation; and (8) insurance fees. Agency fees may be collected only after the migrant worker agrees to sign the labor contract. (Indonesian Ministry of Manpower Decree No. 22/2014, Article 42).
5. Information Dissemination: a proactive information service designed to educate and inform focused groups of users on social, economic and educational issues,
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problems, and opportunities of interest to them (UNESCO).120 The information consists of (1) type of work, (2) rights and responsibilities of migrant workers, (3) wages, working time, holiday/recess time, and insurance; (4) contract terms and code of conduct for re-recruitment; (5) dispute settlement; and (6) laws and rules in the host country (Indonesian Ministry of Manpower Decree No. 22/2014, Article 36).
To support those five categories, I will elaborate on the reasons Indonesian workers run away from their working and living conditions during both their legal and illegal work, which will be classified as supplementary questions. Each category and the supplementary questions are described as follows:
Table 12. List of Questions Based on the Five Categories
VARIABLES QUESTIONS
Type of Work 1) Was your job description during your legal work in accordance with the job contract?
2) Was the amount of your job during your legal work in accordance with the job contract?
3) Did you feel that your legal job exceeded your capability?
Holiday/Recess Time
1) Did you have time to exercise religious activities during your legal work?
2) Did you have the chance to communicate/meet with other Indonesian workers during your legal work?
3) How did you maintain contact with fellow Indonesian workers during your legal work in Taiwan?
4) Did you have the chance to communicate with your family in Indonesia during your legal work?
5) How often did you communicate with your family in Indonesia?
120 S.M. Dhawan, “Basic of Information Dissemination”, p. 45-46,
(http://www.unesco.org/education/aladin/paldin/pdf/course02/unit_05.pdf accessed on April 1st, 2015 at 20:03).
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6) Did you have sufficient recess time in a day during your legal work (6 to 8 hours/day)?
7) Did you have an off-day from your legal employer?
8) During your legal work, were you allowed to have cellphone?
9) Did you feel pressured during your legal work?
Wages
1) During your legal work, were you ever paid late or not at all?
2) Did your legal Taiwanese agency ever deduct your salary beyond the applicable regulations?
3) Was your salary during your legal work in accordance with your expectations?
4) How much was your salary as a runaway worker?
Placement fees
1) Was your salary during your legal work in accordance with the information provided by Indonesian PPTKIS or the Taiwanese agency?
2) How much was the agency fee that you had to pay as a runaway worker?
Information Dissemination
1) Did Indonesian PPTKIS provide you with Taiwanese labor-related information during your training or pre-placement time in Indonesia?
2) Did the Taiwanese agency provide you with the applicable Taiwanese labor regulations during your legal work in Taiwan?
Supplementary Questions
1) Have you ever encountered any problems with your legal employer?
2) Have you ever had a miscommunication or language barrier with your legal employer or Taiwanese agency?
3) Have you ever experienced physical abuse from your legal employer?
4) Have you ever experienced sexual harassment from your legal employer?
5) Have you ever encountered any problems with your legal Taiwanese
8) Have you ever submitted a complaint to the Indonesian Economic and Trade
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Office (IETO) during your legal work?
9) Have you ever submitted a complaint to the Taiwanese legal agency during your legal work?
10) How did you solve a problem during your legal work?
11) Why did you decide to run away from your legal employer?
12) Did you experience any differences between being a legal and an illegal worker in Taiwan?
13) How did you get the job information during your illegal work?
14) How did you get information about the illegal Taiwanese agency that assigns foreign runaway workers to jobs?
15) What was your job as a runaway worker?
16) How did you end up in the Detention Center?
Source: compiled by the author from the questionnaire (See Appendix I for the detailed questionnaire).
RUNAWAY INDONESIAN WORKERS: SURVEY RESULTS
The survey was conducted in three of Taiwan’s National Immigration Agency Detention Centers in Nantou (南投移民署收容所), Hsinchu (新竹移民署收容所) and Yilan (宜蘭移民署收容 所) with 124 respondents in total. After a thorough examination, only 91 respondents have validly answered the questionnaire. In total, 36 questions based on the aforementioned categories were employed in order to gain comprehensive results regarding the first-hand reasons that Indonesian workers run away. The detailed results of survey are in Appendix II.
From 91 respondents, 31.87% of them are male and 68.13% are female. As for their origins, 42.86% are from West Java, 30.77% are from Central Java, and 16.48% are from East Java, whereas the rest of them are from Lampung and other regions in Indonesia. During their legal work in Taiwan, 41.76% worked in Northern Taiwan, 30.77% in Central Taiwan, and 27.47% in Southern Taiwan. 35.16% are aged between 23 and 27 years old, and 34.07% are aged
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diploma. 61.54% of them worked legally as caretakers of the elderly or severely ill. 64.84% of respondents worked legally in Taiwan for less than one year before deciding to run away from their employers and have been in Taiwan less than three years. Their reason to work in Taiwan is mainly to improve economic conditions for their family back home as presented in Figure 4 below.Figure 4. Indonesian Workers’ Reasons to Work in Taiwan
Source: compiled by the author from the survey results
When they were asked their reasons for running away, 35.29% of respondents stated that they were not comfortable with their legal work, while 19.12% ran away due to tight regulations during their legal work, and 16.91% were tempted by the higher salary offered in the illegal labor market. Only 5.15% of respondents decided to run away due to excessive placement fees (仲介 費), as presented in Figure 5 below.
26.42%
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Figure 5. Runaway Indonesian Workers’ Reasons to Run Away from Their Legal Employers
Source: compiled by the author from survey results
I then tried used the five categories to find out more about their reasons for running away.
In terms of type of work, 46.15% of respondents felt that their work was not in accordance with their job contract, whereas 45.05% of them felt otherwise. 50.55% of respondents felt that the amount of jobs of their legal work was not in accordance with what was agreed in the job contract. Moreover, 49.45% of respondents felt that their legal job exceeded their capabilities, which made them unhappy. In summary, it could be inferred that most of respondents felt that their actual job was not in accordance with what had been agreed in the job contract, and more importantly, the amount of their legal job exceeded their capability.
35.29%
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Figure 6. Proportion of Indonesian Workers who felt that the Amount of their Legal Job Exceeded Their Capability
Source: compiled by the author from the survey results
Concerning holiday or recess time, most Indonesian workers (56.04% of respondents) never had an off day during their legal working time. 38.46% of them did not have sufficient break time per day, whereas 34.07% of them did have sufficient break time of 6 to 8 hours per day. Even though 37.36% of respondents were not allowed to have any means of communication with other Indonesian workers during their legal working time, 36.26% of them were allowed.
They usually met when they were shopping in Indonesian stores (26.42%) or when they went to the park with the care-recipient (21.70%). In addition, 62.64% of respondents were allowed to have a cellphone during their legal work. Figure 7 below presents the means of communication among Indonesian workers during their legal work in Taiwan.
23.08%
27.47%
49.45%
No Sometimes Yes
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Figure 7. The Means of Communication among Indonesian Workers during Their Legal Work in Taiwan
Source: compiled by the author from the survey results
Based on Figure 7, it could be inferred that most of the interaction among Indonesian workers was during their work time. They lacked off days and had limited time to communicate freely with other Indonesian workers. However, 62.64% of respondents were allowed to communicate with their family back home, with 36.26% of them communicating with their family once a week. Only 10.99% of them did not have the chance to do so. In terms of religious activity, 60.44% of respondents were not allowed to practice their religion, 23.08% of them were sometimes allowed, and 18.68% of them were always allowed to do so. In summary, the Indonesian workers had difficulties in communicating freely with their fellow Indonesian workers or conducting religious activities. More than half of respondents (56.04%) did not have off days during their legal working time, along with limited contact with fellow Indonesian workers. Moreover, 78.02% of respondents felt pressured during their legal working time, whereas only 21.98% of respondents felt otherwise.
75.51%
4.08%
5.10%
3.06%
7.14%
5.10% From friends
Through Facebook
From Taiwanese legal agencies
From a taxi driver
From a stranger who offered the job Other
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On the other hand, the average wages of Indonesian workers in formal sectors, e.g.
manufacturing, construction or nursing home, is NT$19,273, while for those who work as caretakers or housemaids, is NT$15,840. As a comparison, the average wages that runaway Indonesian workers receive in Taiwan’s illegal labor market is between NT$20,000 and NT$23,000. Figure 8 presents the amount of wages that a runaway Indonesian worker may receive for illegal work.
Figure 8. Runaway Indonesian Workers’ Wages for Illegal Work
Source: compiled by the author from the survey results
Based on the survey results, 51.65% of respondents felt that their wages did not meet their expectations, while the other 48.35% felt otherwise. However, 78.02% of respondents never experienced employers withholding their wages. Only 15.38% of them experienced such an incident, and 6.59% of them sometimes experienced it. In addition, 73.63% of respondents did not feel that the Taiwanese agency deducted their salaries out of the provisions on the job contract. Only 19.78% of them felt so, while the other 6.59% sometimes felt so. Therefore, it
17.58%
51.65%
14.29%
9.89%
6.59% Under NT$
20,000 NT$ 20,000 – 23,000 NT$ 24,000 – 27,000 NT$ 28,000 -32,000 Above NT$
32,000
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could be inferred that even though Indonesian workers rarely experienced irregular wages, more than half of respondents were not satisfied with their legal wages. Relatively high wages in the illegal labor market is one of the reasons that triggered Indonesian workers to run away from their legal employers.
On the other hand, the Indonesian workers did not feel that the imposed placement fees (
On the other hand, the Indonesian workers did not feel that the imposed placement fees (