6. Labor Trafficking Cases in Taiwan
6.1 General Type of Labor Trafficking in Taiwan
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6. Labor Trafficking Cases in Taiwan
The process and means of labor trafficking is variable, but there are some common characteristics. After interviewing the personnel working in the shelter for trafficking victims, the author presents the situation of labor trafficking in Taiwan.
6.1 General Type of Labor Trafficking in Taiwan (1) Trafficking results from high brokerage fees.
Contract foreign laborers had to pay US$7,000 to 9,000 for brokerage fees, so in order to pay back the fees, they dared not to express their complaints for fear of being deported, even though their employers made unreasonable demands. S5 noted their feelings that,
Their salary had been deducted for long and they were going to earn real money soon. For them, just they endured doggedly further then they could get the pay they deserved.
Hence, to repay the high brokerage fees, foreign laborers tend to put up with the suffering until they can pay off the debt. S2 interpreted their thoughts as follows:
For the sake of the bank loan, they could only tolerate whatever happened.
Once the debt was paid off, they felt less burden and had more courage to speak their minds.
Since money was deducted from foreign laborers’ salaries to pay the brokerage fee, in order to escape the brokerage fee, they might run away from their employers;
however, their interests and rights might be less protected if they ran away and acquired an illegal status. S3 said that,
Employers knew that they were illegal and dared not to report him, so sometimes they paid while sometimes they did not.
The government of Taiwan stipulates that foreign laborers can be employed in
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Taiwan for 3 years at most15. Once the time is up, they have to leave Taiwan for at least one day and then come back to work; for this reason, foreign laborers have to pay high brokerage fees again. Some re-employed foreign laborers had friends in Taiwan, so they ran away soon after they arrived in Taiwan to escape the brokerage fees. S1 said that,
He blamed the maltreatment by employers. However, it was only an excuse because he just took advantage of a broker agency to bring him to Taiwan and intended to run away to work illegally.
Though some foreign labor export nations have set up normalized brokerage fees, some brokers still charge extra payments. Added to the shortage of information in rural areas, local people do not understand government regulations well, and the government does not eradicate the unlawful charges, so the actual brokerage fee does not comply with government regulations. S3 stated that,
(Indonesian) Brokers told them that gold was everywhere in Taiwan. A local broker went to the countryside to provide a quota of foreign laborers in Taiwan and everyone strived for the opportunity. Who paid the most would get it.
It was common that the fees foreign laborers were required to pay after arriving in Taiwan was greater than the amount they were told in their home countries. Table 6.1 indicates that 69.8% of work visa holders and 72.2% of non-work visa holders
15 According to Paragraph 2, Article 52 of Employment Service Act, “Where a Foreign Worker is employed to engage in work as referred to in Subparagraphs 8 to 10 of Paragraph 1 of Article 46, the duration of the Permit therefore shall not exceed two (2) years; upon the expiration of which the Employer may apply for one (1) time for extension thereof; the extended duration shall not exceed one (1) year. Should some major and special circumstances occur, the Employer may apply for a further extension thereof. The Executive Yuan shall promulgate the duration of such further extension.
However, in the event of a major construction, the duration of such further extension shall not exceed six (6) months.
Paragraph 4 of the same Article stipulates that, “An employed Foreign Worker who has violated no laws or regulations within the duration of the Employment Permit, and has departed from the territory of the Republic of China due to the termination of employment, or the expiration of the Employment Permit, or an employed Foreign Worker who failed the health examinations, but accepted medical treatment thereafter at his/her national country and then passed health examinations therein, may re-enter the territory of the Republic of China to engage in work. However, as for a Foreign Worker who engages in work as referred to in Subparagraphs 8 to 10 of Paragraph 1 of Article 46, such re-entry may be allowed only after one (1) day following his/her departure, but the aggregate duration in which such Foreign Worker engages in work in the said territory shall not
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encountered the situation mentioned above. There was no obvious difference between work visa or non-work visa holders; about one-third to one-fourth had to pay some fees that they did not know about in advance. S5 expressed that,
They were not notified that some items of payment were necessary until they arrived in Taiwan. For example, by the name of deposit, the salary they would get was put in the bank, yet it was uncertain whether the money would be returned.
In addition, the salary was deducted by fabricating excuses.
Table 6.1 Cross-tabulation between visa * whether the fee foreign laborers were required to pay after arriving Taiwan was the same as the amount they were told in their homelands
Yes No Total
Work visa 35 (30.2%) 81 (69.8%) 116 Non-work visa 5 (27.8%) 13 (72.2%) 18
(2) Contract foreign laborers are exploited and illegal foreign laborers would be in a worse situation if they were under the control of traffickers.
In Taiwan, some people would like to hire comparatively low-waged foreign laborers; however, since they are not qualified to apply for employment permission, they resort to hiring illegal foreign laborers. Consequently, many job positions are vacant for illegal foreign laborers. Illegal employers do not need to pay employment stabilization fees, so they sometimes would rather to pay more than the basic wage to hire illegal foreign laborers. Nevertheless, the wage foreign laborers deserved was mostly embezzled by brokers, and foreign laborers actually got very little. If they complained to the brokers, the brokers would compare them to contract foreign laborers. Since illegal foreign laborers were already paid more than contract foreign laborers, the brokers refused to offer reasonable payment. It was found that both contract foreign laborers and illegal foreign laborers were exploited and that illegal foreign laborers could be more vulnerable in the labor force market.
It was common that the actual wage foreign laborers obtained in Taiwan was different from what they were told in their homelands. Table 6.2 shows that for 53.3%
of work visa holders and 43.8% of non-work visa holders, the wage in Taiwan
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matched the amount they were told before entry.
In Indonesia, people bid for job opportunities; thus, in order to lure them to offer high prices, brokers usually exaggerated the reality. S3 gave an example that,
Brokers told them that gold was everywhere in Taiwan…
Table 6.2 Cross-tabulation between visa * whether the actual wage foreign laborers obtained in Taiwan matched the amount they were told before entry
Yes No Total
Work visa 64 (53.3%) 56 (46.7%) 120 Non-work visa 7 (43.8%) 9 (56.2%) 16
(3) Employers failed to abide by the regulations in assigning jobs or offering wages.
Employers were regulated to assign jobs to foreign laborers in accordance with the contract. Even if jobs beyond the scope allowed by the government were assigned, if they not entail too great a workload, for the sake of making money, foreign laborers would accept them speechlessly. But sometimes such jobs went beyond a reasonable scope. For example, employers applied for foreign laborers as domestic caretakers and then assigned them to nursing care institutions. They originally took care of the patients one by one, but in the end, some foreign laborers were responsible for ten or more elderly patients. They could not receive overtime pay even when working 12 hours a day and were forced to work 16 hours a day. Because the CLA holds that it is difficult to define domestic helpers’ working time, the household workers were excluded from the Labor Standards Law. As a result, they have no official days off or overtime pay16. Furthermore, the Labor Standards Law regulates that the ordinary work day is 8 hours long, but many factories calculate the work week as 6 days long.
Consequently, foreign laborers had to work more than 96 hours in two weeks, or they would not obtain overtime pay.
16 Considering that household workers deal with domestic chores and caring for the sick, such a job is case-oriented and has diversified characteristics. It is difficult to distinguish working hours, stand-by hours, and off hours. The suitability of the involvement of official power in private areas, the vulnerability of the families being cared for, and the influence and the impact on the families should be taken into account. Therefore, the opinions on whether the Labor Standards Law applies to
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