台灣與印尼雙邊跨境移工政策：以在台逃逸印尼勞工為例 - 政大學術集成

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(1)International Master Program in International Studies (IMPIS) College of International Affairs National Chengchi University (NCCU). 國際碩士英語碩士學位學程國際事務學院國立政治大學. Master Thesis. 碩士論文. 學. ‧ 國. 立. 政治大. ‧ y. Nat. sit. er. io. Coordinating Migrant Labor Policy between Taipei and Jakarta: The Case of Runaway Indonesian Workers. a. n. v l C 台灣與印尼雙邊跨境移工政策：以在台逃逸印尼勞工為例 ni hengchi U. Student: Anselma Faustina（范安曼） Advisor: Prof. Titus Chen (陳至潔) 2015.

(2) ABSTRACT. As one of the most populous country in the world, Indonesia’s predominance is sending its human resources to work abroad. However, many Indonesian overseas workers encounter mistreatment during their work time which leads to several arising problems. On the other hand, Taiwan has become one of the preferred destination countries due to three reasons; higher salary, better living and working conditions, and low mistreatment cases compare to other destination countries. Despite that, Taiwan government still encounters issues in managing foreign workers. Runaway foreign worker is a major issue in Taiwan’s labor market and Indonesian workers are accounted as the highest runaway foreign workers in Taiwan. Previous researches have been conducted to analyze the phenomenon of runaway foreign workers in Taiwan and most of them addressed Taiwanese guest worker policy as the major reason. Research on runaway Indonesian workers in particular is very limited as most of the existing researches focused on Filipinas workers.. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. Taking into account that foreign workers issue is a multi-faceted phenomenon which involves various actors, this thesis acknowledges the roles and policies from both sending and host states. Therefore this thesis delivers two arguments. First, Taiwan’s guest worker policy has put excessive burden on Indonesian workers as Taiwan employs highly restrictive policy towards foreign workers. Second, Indonesia and Taiwan’s ineffective cooperation is unable to address the existing runaway Indonesian workers issue as it emphasizes more on scratching the surface than dealing with the root causes. These two variables have inadvertently contributed to the high number of runaway Indonesian workers. In addition, this thesis also delivers a clear labor policy development in Indonesian and Taiwan government to understand each institution’s in-take related to labor issues. In order to provide comprehensive findings, this thesis conducts survey with the Indonesian runaway workers in Detention Center, interview with the runaway Indonesian workers in shelters, and focus group studies with Indonesian and Taiwanese experts who are dealing with such phenomenon. The analysis is drawn from the results of survey and interview, and then is connected to the current Indonesian and Taiwanese policies and cooperation in addressing particular issue.. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Keywords: Foreign Workers, Runaway Indonesian Workers, Taiwanese Guest Worker Policy. i.

(3) ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. For the past two years as a student of IMPIS, I received invaluable help from teachers, officials and friends. First and foremost, I am indebted with my advisor, Prof. Titus Chen, for his patience and feedbacks. Prof. Chen has not only taught and advised me during this past one year but he also encouraged me to strive for the best. I should also acknowledge with appreciation that Prof. Chen has patiently and thoroughly gone through and revised my thesis and made. 政治大 committee members, Dr. Wei Mei-chuan and Dr. Yen Yong-ming, for their constructive 立. numerous invaluable corrections and suggestions. I am also thankful for the rest of my. ‧ 國. 學. suggestions. Without their contribution and advices, I could not have come this far. I further benefited greatly from a number of professors and officials in IMPIS, including IMPIS Director,. ‧. Dr. Wei Bai-ku and IMPIS Program Director, Chafie.. sit. y. Nat. This thesis would not have been able to finish without very precious support from. io. er. Indonesian Economic and Trade Office (IETO) for providing me valuable data, access to National Immigration Agency’s Detention Centers, and shelters. To IETO’s Head of. al. n. iv n C Representative, Mr. Arief Fadillah, I amhindebted for his continuous support during the past two engchi U years. Mr. Isy Karim, IETO’s Head of Administration Department, and Mr. Devriel Soegia,. IETO’s Head of Labor Department, I am thankful for their supports and discussions that help me to finish this thesis. The representatives of National Agency of Placement and Protection of Indonesian Overseas Workers, Mr. Dwi Anto, Mr. Noerman Adhiguna, Mrs. Ramiany Sinaga and Ms. Andini Gathanti, I am greatly thankful for the valuable data and information. Furthermore, I would like to express my gratitude to my friends who have greatly supported me during my two-year study. Ysi, Daniel, Aisha, Ana Lucia, Oscar, Zena thank you. ii.

(4) for keep supporting each other through thick and thin. The Indonesian Ph.D students in NCCU, Rangga, Dita, Pitut and Siska, thank you for our frequent discussions. They have surely enriched this thesis. To my family in Taiwan, the National Chengchi University Indonesian Associations (NCCU-ISA), thank you for making me feel like I am home even when I am miles away from home. To Kerry and Modesta, I truly appreciate for the supports especially during my tough times. And surely, to all of my friends and relatives for their continuous prays and supports during the past two years.. 治政 choose my own path, greatly supported me for my choice,大 and believed in me. Without their 立 Lastly, I would like to dedicate this thesis to my parents who have given me freedom to. blessings, I would not have come this far. Also, for the one and only JR, I am forever thankful. ‧ 國. 學. for your endless support, discussions and patience for the last four years. Thank you for being. ‧. there through my worst and best time.. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. iii. i n U. v.

(5) TABLE OF CONTENT. ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ............................................................................................................ ii TABLE OF CONTENT............................................................................................................... iv LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................................... vii ABBREVIATION ...................................................................................................................... viii. 治政大 BACKGROUND......................................................................................................................... 1 立 REVIEW OF EXISTING LITERATURE ON THE STUDIES OF GUEST-WORKER. CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 1. ‧ 國. 學. SYSTEM IN TAIWAN ............................................................................................................... 5 State’s Role in Managing Foreign Workers and European Guest worker Policy ................... 6. ‧. Lessons Learned from European Guest worker Policy ......................................................... 11 Previous Studies of Runaway Foreign Workers in Taiwan ................................................... 18. sit. y. Nat. RESEARCH DESIGN .............................................................................................................. 22 Research Statement................................................................................................................ 22. io. er. Methodology.......................................................................................................................... 22. al. n. iv n C hengchi U OUTLINE.................................................................................................................................. 24. LIMITATIONS AND DEFINITIONS...................................................................................... 24. CHAPTER 2: THE STATE OF FOREIGN WORKERS ....................................................... 26 THE INDONESIAN PERSPECTIVE: TENAGA KERJA INDONESIA ................................ 26 The Era of Colonialism (1890-1945)..................................................................................... 27 The Old Order Era (1945-1966) ............................................................................................ 28 The New Order Era (1966-1998)........................................................................................... 29 The Reformation Era (1998-2004) ........................................................................................ 31 After the Reformation Era (2004-present)............................................................................. 34 THE TAIWANESE PERSPECTIVE: THE NEEDS OF GUEST WORKERS ....................... 39 Pre-Employment Service Act (1980s-1992).......................................................................... 39 Enactment of Employment Service Act (1992-1995) ........................................................... 41 iv.

(6) Post-Employment of Service Act (1995-now) ...................................................................... 44 CHAPTER’S CONCLUSION .................................................................................................. 49 CHAPTER 3: RUNAWAY INDONESIAN WORKERS ........................................................ 57 RESEARCH CATEGORIES .................................................................................................... 58 RUNAWAY INDONESIAN WORKERS: SURVEY RESULTS ........................................... 64 The Story of Two Runaway Indonesian Workers ................................................................. 74 RUNAWAY INDONESIAN WORKERS: FOCUS GROUP STUDIES ................................. 77 ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................................... 81 CHAPTER 4: MIGRANT LABOR POLICY AND COOPERATION BETWEEN JAKARTA AND TAIPEI ........................................................................................................... 87. 政治大 The Ministry of Manpower’s Ministerial Regulation No. 22/2014....................................... 88 立 Government Regulation No. 3/2013 ...................................................................................... 90. INDONESIAN OVERSEAS WORKERS’ POLICIES ............................................................ 88. ‧ 國. 學. Decision of the Director General of Employment Training Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration No. 152/2009 and No. 153/2009 .................................................................. 91. ‧. TAIWANESE GUEST WORKER POLICIES ......................................................................... 92 Employment Service Act 1992 (就業服務法) ...................................................................... 92. y. Nat. sit. Labor Standard Act 1984 (勞動基準法) ............................................................................... 97. al. er. io. INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS ON HUMAN RIGHTS ............................................... 98. n. COOPERATION ON LABOR ISSUES: THE JOINT WORKING GROUP ........................ 101. Ch. i n U. v. ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................................. 108. engchi. CHAPTER 5 .............................................................................................................................. 114 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................... 114 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................................... 118 APPENDIX I .............................................................................................................................. 124 APPENDIX II ............................................................................................................................ 133 APPENDIX III........................................................................................................................... 156 APPENDIX IV ........................................................................................................................... 162. v.

(7) LIST OF FIGURES. Figure 1. Runaway Foreign Workers in Taiwan Based on Nationality, 2003-2013....................... 5 Figure 2. Framework of Literature Review .................................................................................. 21 Figure 3. Framework of Research Statement ................................................................................ 22 Figure 4. Indonesian Workers’ Reasons to Work in Taiwan ........................................................ 65 Figure 5. Runaway Indonesian Workers’ Reasons to Run Away from Their Legal Employers .. 66 Figure 6. Proportion of Indonesian Workers who felt that the Amount of their Legal Job Exceeded Their Capability ........................................................................................... 67 Figure 7. The Means of Communication among Indonesian Workers during Their Legal Work in Taiwan .......................................................................................................................... 68 Figure 8. Runaway Indonesian Workers’ Wages for Illegal Work .............................................. 69 Figure 9. The Range of Placement fees of Illegal Agencies ......................................................... 70 Figure 10. Runaway Indonesian Workers Opinions on whether Their Taiwanese Agency Cared about Their Working Conditions in Taiwan ............................................................... 72 Figure 11. Runaway Indonesian Workers Grouped by Job Type ................................................. 73 Figure 12.Three Dispute Settlement Mechanisms for Indonesian Workers ................................. 80 Figure 13. The Process of Runaway Indonesian Workers ............................................................ 85. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. vi. i n U. v.

(8) LIST OF TABLES. Table 1. Salary Comparison of Indonesian Workers in Asia-Pacific in 2013 ............................... 2 Table 2. The Numbers of Runaway Foreign Workers in Taiwan Based on Nationality (20032013) ................................................................................................................................ 4 Table 3. The Number of Indonesian Workers During the New Order Era ................................... 30 Table 4. The Progress of Government Policies During the New Order Era (1966-1998) ............ 31 Table 5. The Progress of Government Policies During the Reformation Era (1998-2004) ......... 33 Table 6. Indonesian Overseas Workers’ Remittances 2005-2009 ................................................ 35 Table 7. The Progress of Government Policies After the Reformation Era (2004-present) ......... 37 Table 8. The Process of Foreign Workers Admission in Taiwan’s Labor Force ......................... 45 Table 9. The Share of Foreign Workers in Manufacturing ........................................................... 48 Table 10. Total Number of Foreign Workers in Social Welfare Industry .................................... 49 Table 11. Comparison of Policy Development Related to Migrant Workers between Indonesia and Taiwan ................................................................................................................... 56 Table 12. List of Questions Based on the Five Categories ........................................................... 62 Table 13. Penalty for Employing Illegal Foreign Workers........................................................... 95 Table 14. The Labor Issues Discussed in the First Joint Working Group Meeting in 2011 ....... 103 Table 15. Penalties for Employing Runaway Foreign Workers ................................................. 104 Table 16. The Labor Issues Discussed in the Second Joint Working Group Meeting in 2012 .. 104 Table 17. The Labor Issues Discussed in the Third Joint Working Group Meeting in 2013 ..... 106 Table 18. The Labor Issues Discussed in the Fourth Joint Working Group Meeting in 2014 ... 107. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. n. er. io. sit. y. Nat. al. Ch. engchi. vii. i n U. v.

(9) ABBREVIATION. 1. BLA. :. Bureau of Labor Affairs. 2. BNP2TKI. :. Badan Nasional Penempatan dan Perlindungan Tenaga Kerja Indonesia (National Board of Placement and Protection for the Indonesian Overseas Workers). 3. CLA. :. Commission of Labor Affairs. 4. IETO. :. Indonesian Economic and Trade Office. 5. JWG. :. 6. MOFA. :. 7. MOL. :. 8. MOM. :. 9. NIA. :. National Immigration Agency. 10. PPTKIS. :. Pelaksana Penempatan Tenaga Kerja Indonesia Swasta (Executing. 政治大 Joint Working Group 立 Indonesian Ministry of Manpower. Nat. er. io. sit. y. ‧. ‧ 國. Taiwan’s Ministry of Labor. 學. Ministry of Foreign Affairs. al. Agency of Placement for Indonesian Overseas). n. iv n C Satuan Tugas Tenaga Indonesia (Indonesian Workers Joint Task h e nKerja gchi U. 11. Satgas TKI. :. Force) 12. TETO. :. Taipei Economic and Trade Office. viii.

(10) CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION. BACKGROUND With total population of 253,609,6431, Indonesia is one of the most populous countries in the world. This situation leads to scarcity of jobs where the offered job vacancies far below the high numbers of human resources. Therefore, the predominance is to send its people working abroad. Initiated in 1970, this policy has been supported by the government due to the foreign. 政治大 many working destination countries, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia are top two of the list. 立. exchange contribution from remittances the workers send to their family in Indonesia. Amongst. ‧ 國. 學. Indonesian workers prefer Saudi Arabia for a wish to fulfill their obligation as a Moslem to be hajj2 during their working period there. Meanwhile, Malaysia is chosen because of the. ‧. similarities of geographic, cultural, linguistic, and religious aspects as Indonesia. Unfortunately,. sit. y. Nat. the high sexual and physical abuse cases to Indonesian workers in Saudi Arabia urge the. io. er. government to restrict the workers from going to the biggest oil country. By that, Malaysia. al. n. remains the main destination for Indonesian workers, although many start shifting to East Asia. i n C h destination country. areas with Taiwan as the rising and leading engchi U. v. According to the data from Taiwanese Council of Labor Affairs ( 行政院勞工委員會),. there were 6,020 Indonesian workers in 1994 which sky-rocketed to 191,127 by the end of 2012. For this, Taiwan is the second destination for Indonesian workers by Indonesia’s Ministry of. 1. 2. Based on CIA World Factbook in July 2014 (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-worldfactbook/geos/id .html accessed on November 6, 2014 at 22:19) Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca that every Muslim is required to make at least once in his life, provided he has enough money and the health to do so (according to http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/hajj accessed on June 13, 2014 at 12:36).. 1.

(11) Manpower by having 30,669 workers sent there in that year only. From the numbers, 84% were females who worked in domestic sector as caregivers for elderly or children.3 This affirms the fact that Indonesian workers have a good market share in Taiwan. The numbers increase because of several reasons. First, Taiwan offers the most attractive salary compare to other destinations, including for those who work in the domestic sector. For AsiaPacific region only, the comparison as follows: Table 1. Salary Comparison of Indonesian Workers in Asia-Pacific in 2013 SALARY 政治大 Singapore Dollar 520 立. COUNTRY. CURRENCY. Singapore. Hong Kong Dollar. 4,010. New Taiwan Dollar. 19,047. USD 416 USD 517. 學. Taiwan. ‧ 國. Hong Kong. EQUIVALENT. USD 627. ‧. Source: BNP2TKI, “Penempatan dan Perlindungan Tenaga Kerja Indonesia Tahun 2013,” 2013.. sit. y. Nat. io. er. This number is even higher compared to wages offered in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia, which are 500 RM (US$ 153) per month and 800 Riyal (US$ 213) per month4 respectively.. al. n. iv n C Second, Taiwan has better living situation as the government protects the workers’ rights hengchi U. which are guaranteed by the promulgation of Taiwan’s Labor Act.5 In accordance to the Law, the maximum working hour is eight hours a day or 84 hours every two-week (Article 30), with total overtime hour of no more than 46 hours per month (Article 32). Furthermore, the worker is entitled to one regular day off in every seven days (Article 36) which can only be suspended by the act of God, an accident or unexpected event requires continuances of work under the 3. 4. 5. Bureau of Employment and Vocational Training, Council of Labor Affairs ( 行政院勞工委員會). Foreign Workers in Productive Industries and Social Welfare by Nationality. 2012. Bank Indonesia, “Laporan Survei Nasional Pola Remitansi TKI,” (Jakarta: Direktorat Statistik Ekonomi dan Moneter, 2009), p. v. Ministry of Labor, Taiwan’s Labor Standard Act, 2013.. 2.

(12) condition that the worker receives wages at double the regular rate (Article 40). For that, the employer must report the suspension details and reasons within 24 hours to the local competent authorities. In contrast, many Indonesian female workers in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to leave their employer’s house due to their tradition and culture where women must obey the order from men. According to Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Labor, domestic labors must respect not only Saudi society’s habits but also traditions, and must not participate in any activity that might harm the family.6. 治政 any other destination countries, particularly for physical and大 sexual abuse cases in Saudi Arabia 立. Lastly, cases of mistreatment of Indonesian workers in Taiwan are lower compared to. and Malaysia. Ferry Yahya, Head of Indonesia Economic and Trade Office in 2010,. ‧ 國. 學. acknowledged that there are some sexual and physical abuse cases against Indonesian workers in. ‧. Taiwan yet it has never been a major issue. 7 Based on the data from National Agency for Placement and Protection of Indonesian Workers Overseas (BNP2TKI), there were 7,520. y. Nat. io. sit. mistreatment cases of Indonesian workers in Saudi Arabia from 2011 to 2013, 1,720 cases in. n. al. er. Malaysia and only 709 cases in Taiwan.8 However the actual numbers of unreported cases are likely far higher.. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. A higher salary, better living and working conditions, as well as low sexual and physical abuses in Taiwan create a good working environment for the workers. Nevertheless, Taiwan’s Ministry of Labor stated that there were 9,759 Indonesian workers runaway in Taiwan per 2013 which became the highest compared to other nationalities of runaway workers. Table 2 below presents the total number of runaway foreign workers based on their nationalities. The statistics 6. 7. 8. “Domestic Labor Obligations”, Ministry of Labor Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: 2014, accessed October 6, 2014 at 18.23, http://www.musaned.gov.sa/en/DomesticWorkers/DomesticWorkerDuties “RI Workers in Taiwan Finds Solace on Aug 17”, Grraham Duncan: 2007, accessed December 19, 2013 at 16.31, http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2007/08/19/ri-workers-taiwan-find-solace-aug17.html BNP2TKI, op cit, p. 49.. 3.

(13) from Taiwan’s authority includes completed data of four nationalities only, which are Indonesian, Filipinos, Thais and Vietnamese. Table 2. The Numbers of Runaway Foreign Workers in Taiwan Based on Nationality (2003-2013) Runaway Runaway Filipinos Runaway Thais Runaway Vietnamese Indonesian Workers Workers Workers Workers 2003 3,411 873 1,171 4,233 2004 1,978 1,177 1,369 7,536 2005 1,973 1,543 2,040 7,363 2006 4,232 1,023 1,239 4,422 2007 4,870 867 959 4,529 2008 5,506 643 680 4,275 2009 4,672 552 381 5,138 2010 6,484 662 411 6,590 2011 7,984 790 561 6,985 2012 7,969 675 468 8,467 2013 9,759 685 289 8,738 Source: Taiwan’s Ministry of Labor, “Runaway Status of Foreign Workers in Productive Industries and Social Welfare”, 2014, data is compiled by the author. Year. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. Figure 1 below presents the respective percentage of runaway workers from Thailand, the. y. Nat. er. io. sit. Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia in the total number of runaway foreign workers in Taiwan from 2003 to 2013. Based on Figure 1, it could be inferred that Vietnamese and Indonesian. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. workers are the top two countries that hold high numbers of runaway foreign workers in Taiwan.. engchi. Vietnamese workers reached its peak in 2004 but slowly decreasing and never exceeded 50% of total runaway foreign workers in Taiwan in the following years. Nevertheless, the trend of Indonesian workers is the reversed of Vietnamese workers. In 2004, the number of Indonesian runaway workers was considerably low but it kept increasing and reached its peak in 2013 which accounted for 50% of the total runaway foreign workers in Taiwan. When other countries were able to diminish the number of runaway workers, Indonesian workers’ number was skyrocketing.. 4.

(14) Figure 1. Runaway Foreign Workers in Taiwan Based on Nationality, 2003-2013 70.00% 60.00% 50.00% Thailand. 40.00%. Philippines 30.00%. Vietnam. 20.00%. Indonesia. 10.00% 0.00%. 政治大. 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013. 立. ‧. ‧ 國. 學. Source: Taiwan’s Ministry of Labor, “Runaway Status of Foreign Workers in Productive Industries and Social Welfare”, 2014, data is compiled by the author.. In regard to the elaboration mentioned above, thus this thesis is aimed to answer the. sit. y. Nat. following question: “Why is the number of runaway Indonesian workers in Taiwan high,. io. er. despite Taiwan’s better working and living conditions?” In order to answer the question, I. al. argue that Taiwan’s guest worker policy and ineffective cooperation between Indonesia and. n. iv n C Taiwan have imposed excessive burden guest workers, hence contributing h eonnIndonesian gchi U inadvertently to the relatively high numbers of runaway Indonesian workers in Taiwan.. REVIEW OF EXISTING LITERATURE ON THE STUDIES OF GUEST-WORKER SYSTEM IN TAIWAN Research on foreign workers in Taiwan, particularly Indonesian workers, has mostly focused on comparative studies of Indonesian and Filipino workers, the role of Taiwanese agency in creating stereotypes of foreign workers in Taiwanese households, and job satisfaction. 5.

(15) and mistreatment of guest workers. None of the above topics addresses the issue of Indonesian runaway workers which is actually one of the major concerns for Indonesian workers (besides physical and sexual abuse, illegal working conditions, and even prostitution). This thesis undertakes to analyze the underlying causes of relatively high numbers of runaway Indonesian workers to address the under-explored issue. The mistreatment inflicted upon Indonesian workers abroad is common knowledge to the Indonesian people. However, when guest workers enjoy better living and working conditions, as. 治政 work as well as the living environment. However, the matter大 of runaway foreign workers is one 立 offered in Taiwan, there should be no major issues among them as they are satisfied with their. of pressing issues in managing foreign workers in Taiwan. As Indonesian workers have. ‧ 國. 學. accounted for more than 50% of total runaway foreign workers in Taiwan in 2013, it is highly. ‧. crucial to find the root causes and appropriate solutions.. Previous scholarly articles have attempted to address the issue of runaway foreign. y. Nat. er. io. sit. workers. The existing literature focuses on just one of the perspectives, i.e., either the perspective of the sending country, or that of the receiving country. However, the phenomenon of guest. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. workers is a transnational issue which involves more than one country. It is hence imperative to. engchi. analyze the issue of guest workers from two perspectives: the perspective of the sending country, and that of the receiving country. This research will apply such two-way perspectives to gain a comprehensive understanding of the root causes of runaway workers.. State’s Role in Managing Foreign Workers and European Guest worker Policy As one of the consequences that stemmed from international migration, foreign workers phenomenon has received significant attentions from many scholars, especially in the current. 6.

(16) speed of globalization. One of the major issues in globalization studies is the importance role of state according to the Westphalian 9 description. Some scholar, such as Kenichi Ohmae, has argued that state’s role is becoming less significant in this borderless world. Therefore the role of government emphasized on educating their people and provides information as accurate as possible so that people and companies may take their own decision – or to borrow his term, “the government needs to let in the light”.10 Nevertheless, other scholars argue that the role of government has become even more. 治政 Indeed international migration issues may大 cause some issues in the domestic 立. crucial in this globalization era especially because states respond to the social pressure in their domestic level.. 11. level of host states such as the depression of local wages, the potential social problems of. ‧ 國. 學. integration, housing and overcrowding as well as political and security issues. 12 Moreover. ‧. international migration always involves at least two actors (notably sending states and host. Furthermore, Mittelman argued that “typically. io. er. 13. sit. Nat. international and macro-regional level.. y. states) therefore government needs to regulate migrant labor within national borders,. immigration policies include a system for recognizing professional qualifications, easing entry. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. for groups such as physicians and engineers, and erecting barriers to the free flow of unskilled labor.”. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13 14. 14. engchi. The term of Westphalian originated from the Peace of Westphalian which legitimated the right of sovereigns to govern their peoples free of outside interference, whether any such external claim to interfere was based on political, legal or religious principles (referred to http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/AJLH/2004/9.html accessed on January 13, 2015 at 11:17). Kenichi Ohmae, “A Steady Hand,” in The Borderless World: Power and Strategy in the Interlinked Economy, (United States: Harper Business, 1990), p. 194-201. James H. Mittelman, “Globalization and Migration,” in The Globalization Syndrome: Transformation and Resistance, (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2000), p. 58-73. Weng-Tat Hui, “The Regional Economic Crisis and Singapore: Implications for Labor Migration”, in Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, Vol. 7, Nos. 2-3, 1998, p. 206. Ibid, James H. Mittelman, op. cit. Ibid, p. 63.. 7.

(17) Indeed the practice of immigration policy is similar with Mittelman’s definition. The most-adopted policy is the guest worker framework which has variations application but shared similar essences such as not allowing the migrant workers to stay after the expiration of their contract and that they will always hold the status as temporary workers. 15 This policy was first emerged in European countries as that continent experienced the flow of immigrants and foreign workers since the end of World War II. According to Klaus J. Bade, there are three phases of migration into Europe which are (1). 治政大1940s to 1970s along the collapse The first and second phase occurred from 立. decolonization, colonial and post-colonial migration, (2) labor migration, and (3) refugee and asylum migration.. 16. of European empire and the European economic boom. At that time, mostly western European. ‧ 國. 學. countries admitted pro-colonial ethnic groups and European descents. The government facilitated. ‧. the returnees and immigrants with citizenship and linguistic program as part of integration programs for European and colonial immigrants whom received equal rights. In addition, the. y. Nat. er. io. sit. immigrants also filled the demand of low-wage and unskilled labors and as the demand kept rising the western European governments (notably West Germany and France) opened their door. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. to the immigrants from southern European, post-colonial countries (northern Africa and Asian. engchi. countries) as well as Turkey. Nevertheless, post-colonial countries’ immigrants and Turks received the most disadvantage treatment and benefit as they were seen as outsiders or alien. The last phase occurred from 1950s until 1990s where the refugees and asylum seekers also came from post-colonial countries, eastern European, or former Soviet Union countries.17. 15. Tseng, Yen-fen and Hong-zen Wang, “Governing Migrants Workers at a Distance: Managing the Temporary Status of Guest workers in Taiwan”, International Migration, Vol. 52 (4), 2011,, p. 2. 16 Klaus J. Bade, “Migration and Migration Policies in the Cold War,” in Migration in European History (2003), p. 221-230. 17 Ibid, p. 262-265.. 8.

(18) Initially, the government’s response toward the immigrants was positive. Many companies raised the issue of labor shortage therefore demanding government to admit more foreign workers.18 Moreover the war brought consequences of large population losses and the obligation of restructuring, particularly in post-colonial countries. In addition, the guest worker advocates in Western Europe succeeded to persuade policy makers to admit foreign workers by arguing that such policy would bring economic and political relief to poverty and dictatorship government in Mediterranean neighbors.. 治政大 the migrant workers to return renewable work permit and rotation system for encouraging 立 The implementation of guest worker policy in Europe was based on granting one year. home.19 However, most of migrant workers stayed more than one year and the rotation system. ‧ 國. 學. was not fully implemented. The oil shock bomb in 1973 was the turning point of guest worker. ‧. policy in western European countries as their economic was decreasing and many companies collapsed creating high unemployment especially for the natives. West Germany was the first. y. Nat. er. io. sit. country that stopped migrant entry and implemented restrictive entry rules which was followed by other European countries. Their objective was once the migrants workers were no longer. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. recruited, they would return home.20 Nevertheless, many stayed and demanded the liberalization. engchi. of policies that included acceptance of migrants’ settlement, granting family reunification rights, improvement of living and working conditions, naturalizations and anti-discrimination laws.21 The Western European governments had no choice but to integrate them otherwise they would have contradicted the democratic principles to which western European countries upheld.22 18. Piotr Plewa, “The Rise and Fall of Temporary Foreign Worker Policies: Lessons for Poland”, in International Migration, Vol. 45 (2), 2007,p. 12-15. 19 Ibid, p. 15. 20 Stephen Castles, “Guest Worker in Europe: A Resurrection?”, in International Migration Review, Vol. 40 No. 4, 2006, p. 742-744. 21 Ibid, Piotr Plewa, op. cit. 22 Ibid.. 9.

(19) The integration of migrants to European community surely brought many consequences such as high unemployment rate and discrimination. One of the consequences from the integration policy, according to Stephen Castles, is the creation of ethnically diverse but socially divided European societies.23 The integrated immigrants are still perceived as outsiders by the native people hence ethnic minorities is created. This raised concerns in several issues such as social exclusion, labor market segmentation, residential segregation and high unemployment. Furthermore, Philip N. Jones argued in Germany, the immigrants are still disadvantaged due to their lack of capabilities in high-skilled jobs.24 Therefore they could not meet the increasingly. 治政大Germany’s ethnic minority, has demand of skilled and qualified workers. The Turks, as 立 consistently been the primary focus of antagonism and heightened with the growth of militant. ‧ 國. 學. Islam. In addition, in her research, Barbara Herzog-Punzenberger argued that Turkish second. ‧. generation are overrepresented in the lowest level and underrepresented in high level of Austrian school types thus makes them incompetent in Austrian labor market. 25 This phenomenon is. y. Nat. er. io. sit. caused by the little attention to special needs of children with different cultures and languages in Austrian school system. Further she concluded that Austrian school system seems to be more. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. oriented preparing certain part of population rather than providing everyone with the best. engchi. resources thus leading to ethnic segmentation.. Concerned with the immigrants issues, European countries started to tighten their immigration policy in early 1990s especially with the enlargement of European Union (EU) to include poorer countries such as Bulgaria and Romania. According to Tito Boeri and Herbert Brucker, since 1990, there have been 92 reforms of national migration policies in the EU-15 23. Ibid, Stephen Castles, op.cit. Philip N. Jones, “Immigrants, Germans and National Identity in the New Germany: Some Policy Issues,” in International Journal of Population Geography, Vol. 2, 1996, p. 119-131. 25 Barbara Herzog-Punzenberger, “Ethnic Segmentation in School and Labor Market – 40 Years of Legacy Austrian Guest worker Policy,” in International Migration Review, Vol. 37 No. 4, 2003, p. 1120-1144. 24. 10.

(20) which means more than 5 reforms per year. 26 Most of these reforms included increasing procedural obstacles for visa or citizenship applicants, reducing the duration of work permit, making family reunification more difficult, as well as tightening restrictions in asylum policies and national quotas. The main objective of the policy is making the entry to EU more and more difficult.. Lessons Learned from European Guest worker Policy. 治政大similar issues, i.e., the need of other regions, especially Asian regions, when they faced 立. The experience of European countries with immigrant issues has provided a lesson for. importing foreign workers yet preventing them from obtaining permanent residence.. With the. ‧ 國. 學. decrement of oil prices, many Asian migrant workers in the Middle East shifted to places closer. ‧. to home, especially those newly industrialized economics (NIEs), such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan. Indeed during 1960s and 1970s, employment growth in manufacturing. y. Nat. 20% to 55% in Singapore and 20% to 33% in Taiwan.27. n. al. Ch. er. io. sit. of metal products increased significantly; 13% to 27% in Hong Kong, 12% to 28% in Korea,. i n U. v. In addition, the demographic conditions in Asia also played a major role in the migration. engchi. process within Asia. As noted by Charles Stahl and Reginald Appleyard, some of the countries in Asia are the world’s most densely populated countries whereas the others are least densely populated countries due to different range of topological features.28 Hong Kong and Singapore, for instances, contain 5,700 and 2,600 persons per square kilometer, and Taiwan has 547 persons. 26. Tito Boeri and Herbert Brucker, “Why are Europeans so tough on migrants?”, in Economic Policy, October 2005, Great Britain. 27 Gary S. Fields, “The Migration Transition in Asia”, Asian and Pacific Migration Journal Vol. 3 (1), 1994, p. 10. 28 Charles, W. Stahl and Reginald T. Appleyard, “International Manpower Flows in Asia: An Overview”, Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, Vol. 1 (3-4), 1992, p. 418.. 11.

(21) per square kilometer whereas Mongolia only contains 1.3 persons per square kilometer.29 This varied population density affects the extent and direction of economic migration where the highly-dense population tends to move to a less dense population’s country in order to obtain better employment opportunities and earnings. In addition, less dense population country is more prone to experience labor shortage thus accelerates demand of foreign workers. Moreover, fertility rates in Asia also varied. Pakistan and Laos, for instance, are the leading countries in terms of fertility rate in the region with rates of 6.6%, while Japan’s is only. 治政大 1947 and 1957, Japan’s total been a major issue for Japan’s economy and society. Between 立 0.6%. Indeed, Japan has an early fertility decline compared to other NIEs countries which has. fertility rate declined by more than 50%, from 4.54 to 2.04 children per woman. 30 Naohiro. ‧ 國. 學. Ogawa argues that this statistic raises a major concern amongst Japanese businessmen regarding. ‧. the long-term labor shortage problem as well as the danger of slower technological progress due to significant shrinking number of young people entering into the labor force. 31 The increasing. y. Nat. er. io. sit. aging society in NIEs thus created a new type of labor demand which was domestic workers to take care of the elderly mainly because of two reasons. First, most of the young people fill the. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. demand of labor forces and second, the increasing number of women working outside the family. engchi. creates demand of domestic workers in local household which was filled by the migrant workers. Pursuant to the aforementioned, it is clear that the need to import migrant workers to the NIEs was quite high. Nevertheless, the migrant workers is a new phenomenon faced by the NIEs government therefore the NIEs as the host countries were lack of policies pertaining to the. 29. Ibid. Naohiro Ogawa, “Population Aging and Immigration in Japan,” Asian and Pacific Migration Journal Vol. 20 (2), 2011, p. 135. 31 Ibid, p. 134. 30. 12.

(22) regulation and control of these workers.32 However, the NIEs governments also realized that if they did not address the new phenomenon properly, it would lead to social problems in their domestic realm which could be escalated to the international tension. Being familiar with the history and experience of migrant workers in Western Europe, especially the issue of the permanent settlement of ‘temporary’ workers in host countries and the problems associated with the presence of large numbers of immigrants, NIE governments were determined to avoid creating the Asian version of such experiences.33 Therefore NIE governments employed highly. 政治大. restrictive guest workers policies to make it fairly difficult for foreign workers to settle permanently in host countries.. 立. For instance, Singapore’s law regarding foreign labors has evolved several times since its. ‧ 國. 學. recognition of foreign labors in early 1970s. From 1965 to 1968, Singapore’s government did not. ‧. allow the import of unskilled foreign labors but welcomed the highly skilled workers. Although the importation of unskilled labors was permitted from 1968 onwards, the government still. y. Nat. io. sit. imposed highly restrictive policies towards the hiring of unskilled labors. 34 The first restriction. n. al. er. was the imposing of levy on every worker that employers brought in.35 In 1987 the government. Ch. i n U. v. imposed levy of SG$ 140 to all foreign labors but then it increased based on the type of worker. engchi. and industry. For example, the levy for domestic maids was originally SG$ 120 in 1987 but then increased to be SG$ 250 in 1991. In the construction and marine-related industries, the levy for skilled worker is SG$ 250 while for unskilled worker is SG$ 350. On the other hand the levy on manufacturing industry has a flat rate for all type of workers which is SG$ 300.36 However it. 32. Debrah A. Yaw, Introduction to Migrant Workers in Pacific Asia, (London: Frank Cass Publishers, 2002), p. 3-5. Ibid. 34 Pang Eng Fong, “Abosrbing Temporary Foreign Workers: The Experience of Singapore”, Asian and Pacific Migration Journal Vol. 1 (3-4), 1992, p. 496-497. 35 Ibid, p. 497. 36 Ibid, p. 499. 33. 13.

(23) could be noted that the levy is much higher on unskilled labors than skilled labors. This reflects the Singapore’s government policy which encourages the importation of skilled labors than unskilled labors. Moreover the government also imposed quota system (配額制度) which only allows the employers to hire foreign labors at certain set ceiling. 37 For instance, the total foreign workers in a firm cannot exceed the ceiling 40% of total workers. In addition the employers must have inprinciple approval of work permit granted before the arrival of foreign worker and post a security. 政治大 However this policy is not imposed to Malaysian laborers who are 立. bond of SG$ 5,000 for the worker to ensure repatriation of the worker upon the expiry or completion of work permit.. 38. considered as traditional workers due to the shared heritage line with Singaporeans, which can. ‧ 國. 學. work immediately once their work permit is approved.39. ‧. The second restriction is regarding the status of foreign laborers. Unskilled laborers are. sit. y. Nat. not allowed to settle permanently in Singapore nor bring their families to Singapore. They are. io. er. only allowed to work in Singapore for no longer than two years and a marriage with a Singaporean will not grant them automatic residence rights. 40 On the other hand, the skilled. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. laborers with desired cultural and social characteristic are granted permanent residence status. engchi. fairly quick and even encouraged to take up Singaporean citizenship. 41 In response to illegal immigration, the government imposed a law of three months mandatory jail or a maximum fine SG$ 5000 for foreign workers who overstayed their visa for more than ninety days. 42. 37. Ibid. Diana Wong, “Transience and Settlement: Singapore’s Foreign Labor Policy”, Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, Vol. 6 (2), 1997, p. 151. 39 Ibid. 40 Ibid, Pang Eng Fong, op. cit, p. 497. 41 Ibid, p. 498. 42 Ibid, p. 500. 38. 14.

(24) Nonetheless all legal foreign laborers in Singapore are entitled to the same protection under the law as citizen workers.43 Meanwhile the Japanese government imposed a rather seclusionist immigration policy as initially they were not accepting foreign workers. 44 Despite the high demand from small and medium business enterprises for importing foreign laborers due to labor shortage in Japan, the government still implemented restrictive policies toward unskilled laborers. Based on its policy, all foreign workers in Japan must obtain residency status before being hired by Japanese. 治政 laborers by extending its Immigration Act and establishing大 several new residence statuses for 立 employers. However, the Japanese government chose the course of admitting skilled foreign. foreign workers with special skills and capabilities to work in Japan. 45 The objectives are to. ‧ 國. 學. assist Japan in the globalization of the Japanese economy and facilitate the transfers of. ‧. technology and skills to Japanese people. 46 The Japan’s government also imposed a punitive policy of a maximum three years of imprisonment or a maximum fine of two million yen for. y. Nat. er. io. sit. anyone acting as broker for illegal foreign workers or employing them. 47. Another residency scheme imposed by Japanese government was the recognition of. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. Japanese descendants as workers by accentuating the 1990 Amendment of the Immigration. engchi. Control Act which stated that children and grandchildren of Japanese nationals are entitled to “long term resident” status which do not restrict activities to work legally in Japan.48 This policy was aimed to attract ethnic Japanese-descended from South America, such as Brazil and Peru, to. 43. Ibid, p. 497. Toshikazu Nagayama, “Foreign Workers Recruiting Policies in Japan”, Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, Vol. 5 (2-3), 1996, p. 241-243. 45 Hiromasa Mori, “Foreign Migrant Workers in Japan: Trends and Policies”, Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, Vol. 4 (2-3), 1995, p. 412-414. 46 Ibid. 47 Ibid. 48 Yoshio Okunishi and Tetsu Sano, “Labor Markets of Japanese-Descended Workers and Foreign Trainees in Japan”, Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, Vol. 4 (2-3), 1995, p. 391-393. 44. 15.

(25) fill the unskilled labors shortage particularly small or medium-sized manufacturing companies and agricultural sector.49 In addition, the Japan’s government also allowed Japan’s companies to hire foreign workers but with trainee-status. However the government still placed tight controls over the training system such as by determining the types of receiving company and the number of trainees per company. 50 In April 1993, the government introduced the Technical Intern Training Program (TITP) which classified the training system under a formal employment contract.51 Nevertheless there were some requirements before a trainee could be transferred to. 治政大 the total period of training must and successfully pass a skill evaluation examination. In addition, 立. technical trainee status which were the trainees had to complete a period of conventional training. not exceed two years for the conventional training and TITP combined. No extension of the. ‧ 國. 學. internship, application of residency status or family reunification is allowed. 52 Even though. ‧. Japan’s government is still reluctant to admit the need for and entrance of unskilled foreign. Nat. io. sit. health and pension scheme insurance, and rights to join labor union.53. y. labors, all legal foreign laborers in Japan are entitled the same rights to local workers such as. n. al. er. Furthermore, Taiwan’s government employed restrictive policies regarding the foreign. Ch. i n U. v. labors issue as well. First, the government is regulating the entry of migrant workers and 54. engchi. imposing health check requirement. The application of high-skilled workers or classified as white collars for a work permit are approved on a case-by-case basis depending on the application’s qualification and job category whereas for low-skilled workers or blue collars are regulated and adjusted by the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA/行政院勞工委員會) through a quota 49. Ibid. Nana Oishi, “Training or Employment? Japanese Immigration Policy in Dilemma”, Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, Vol. 4 (2-3), 1995, p. 370. 51 Ibid, p. 371. 52 Ibid. 53 Ibid, Toshikazu Nagayama, op. cit, p. 251-253. 54 Pei-Chia Lan, “Political and Social Geography of Marginal Insiders: Migrant Domestic Workers in Taiwan,” Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, Vol. 12 (1-2), 2003, p. 104. 50. 16.

(26) system (配額制度) based on the selected industries or occupations. The requirement of health check for foreign workers includes a chest X-ray, a blood test for syphilis, Type-B hepatitis surface-antigen test, a blood test for malaria, stool test for intestinal parasites, HIV-antibody test, urine test for amphetamines and morphine, and psychological evaluation.55 In addition, the blue collars (unskilled) workers are required to undergo the health exam not only before entering Taiwan but regularly after their arrival.56 Secondly, the class basis-differentiated system among the foreign workers affects the. 政治大 therefore they are not eligible for permanent residence or citizenship whereas the high-skilled 立. duration of work for migrant workers. The low-skilled workers are recruited on a contract basis. workers are allowed to apply for permanent residence after residing in Taiwan with legal jobs for. ‧ 國. 學. a minimum of five consecutive years.57 In addition, the domestic workers can work for only one. ‧. particular employer during his or her stay in Taiwan unless the care recipient of a migrant. sit. y. Nat. workers dies or migrates to another country or if the workers are abused by the employer or. io. er. transferred illegally to different employer which is not included on the contract. Lastly the Taiwan government places migrant workers in the custody of employers by. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. imposing a deposit on the employers as an insurance bond and to pay monthly “employment 58. engchi. stabilize fee”. In the case of domestic workers, most of their employment is conducted via agencies thus they have to pay the placement fee (仲介費) which is deducted from their wage and equivalent to five to fourteen months of workers’ wage. Furthermore the agencies also suggested that the employer to conduct surveillance on their employees regularly, for instance by holding. 55. Ibid. Ibid, Yen-fen Tseng and Hong-zen Wang, op. cit, p. 10. 57 Ibid, Pei-Chia Lan, op. cit, p. 106. 58 Ibid, p. 107. 56. 17.

(27) their necessary documents such as passport or checking the worker’s activities during their offday. Nonetheless, the implemented policies are less successful in overcoming the issues of immigration in NIEs as well as Japan. For instance, in Japan the substantial and growing number of illegal workers persisted with total of almost 297,000 workers in November 1993, accounted 180% increased since 1990. 59 In Taiwan, the current law is unable to prevent the most outstanding problem faced by Taiwan’s government related to migrant workers issue which is. 治政 runaway workers in Taiwan kept increasing every year and大 70 percent of these cases could not 立. the runaway worker. As Joseph S. Lee and Wang Su-wan noted in their article, the number of. be found by the police department. 60 The status of illegal workers makes them even more. ‧ 國. 學. vulnerable than they already are because they are not entitled any rights or protection.. ‧. Previous Studies of Runaway Foreign Workers in Taiwan. y. Nat. er. io. sit. Indeed many scholars have attempted to answer the enigma of foreign runaway workers issue in Taiwan. In his article, Joseph S. Lee argues that the limited two years contract and high. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. referral fee are the main reason why foreign workers decide to run away from their employers.61. engchi. The high referral fee, which depends on the job and worker’s nationality, is paid by the workers themselves and with limited contract of only two years, it is quite difficult for them to save money for their family back home. Therefore some foreign workers decide to run away when their contract comes close to expiry. Without paying the referral fee and receive higher wage in the illegal labor market gives better chance for the foreign workers to save certain amount of 59. Ibid, Hiromasa Mori, op. cit, p. 417. Joseph S. Lee and Su-Wan Wang, “Recruiting and Managing Foreign Workers in Taiwan”, Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, Vol. 5 (2-3), 1996, p. 293-294. 61 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. 60. 18.

(28) money before returning home. Further he argues that the saving accounts policy implemented by Taiwan government in 1998 has been effective in reducing the number of foreign runaway workers. 62 This policy requires the employers to sign contract with their foreign workers for allowing the employers to deduct 30% of the workers’ monthly salary for deposit and they are not allowed to withdraw any money until the completion of their contract. On the other hand, Lan Pei-chia, a distinguished professor from National Taiwan University, has conducted research on Filipino runaway workers. In her article, she argues that. 治政大 liberties. management as the migrant workers lack of political and civil 立. the current guest worker policy has created a highly exploitative system of migrant labor 63. The tight control as. well as excessive placement fees (仲介費) implemented by the Taiwan’s government contributed. ‧ 國. 學. to the increasing numbers of runaway foreign workers as illegal migrant workers enjoy some. ‧. ‘free illegality’ in the underground economy such as arranging their work-schedule, choosing. sit. y. Nat. their own employers and negotiating an equal-footing position with the employers. 64 She. io. er. suggests that the government needs to establish alternative policy frameworks beyond the conventional arrangement, frameworks that tears down the dichotomy of citizens and aliens.65 As. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. foreign workers contribute their labor and tax to the host country, they have to be able to enjoy. engchi. substantial rights and welfares, including the rights to change jobs freely, extend residency, participate in civil politics, as well as have access to public education and social services. Similar with Lan Pei-chia, Alex Wolfgram also argues in his thesis ‘I Have It Maid in Taiwan: Runaway Filipino Domestic Household Workers and Taiwan’s Foreign Labor Policy’,. 62. Ibid. 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. 271-272. 64 Ibid, p. 265-269. 65 Ibid, p. 271-273. 63. 19.

(29) that Taiwan’s current policies create an exploitative system toward Filipino domestic household workers.66 He emphasized the heavy-burden placement fees (仲介費), ineffective brokers and quota systems (配額制度) as well as mismatched job description as the factors that cause Filipino workers to run away. In addition, he also notes that the Taiwanese working culture affects the likelihood of Filipino workers to run away. He suggests that Taiwan’s government should regulate the rights of domestic workers as per International Labor Organization’s Convention on Decent Work for Domestic Workers. These rights include normal working hours, overtime. 政治大 Taiwanese private brokers should be abolished in order for foreign workers to be able to choose 立. compensation, periods of daily and weekly rest and paid annual leave. 67 Further he argues that. ‧ 國. 學. or change their jobs independently. On the other hand, to diminish cultural misunderstandings, he suggests that the history and culture of Southeast Asian countries should be put into Taiwan’s. ‧. curriculum.. sit. y. Nat. Figure 2 describes the existing reviews. Reflecting from European Guest worker Policy. io. er. which caused several problems in European society, particularly the creation of ethnic minority that has caused major issues in European society, Asian countries implemented highly restrictive. al. n. iv n C guest worker policy from the beginning they acknowledged h e n g c h i Uthe importation of foreign workers. legally. The expected aim of this policy is to prevent the permanent settlement of migrant workers which could lead to the creation of ethnic minority. Nevertheless, in reality this policy has created an exploitative system towards migrant workers.. 66. Alex Wolfgram, “I Have It Maid in Taiwan: Runaway Filipino Domestic Household Workers and Taiwan’s Foreign Labor Policy” (Master Thesis, National Chengchi University, 2012), p. 25-32. 67 Ibid, p. 52-57.. 20.

(30) Figure 2. Framework of Literature Review. European Guest worker Policy. Asian Guest worker Policy. Preventing Permanent Settlement. Preventing Permanent Settlement. 立. 政治大. ‧. ‧ 國. 學 Creating Exploitative System. sit. n. er. io. al. y. Nat. Creating Ethnic Minority. Ch. i n U. v. Source: concluded by the author from the literature review.. engchi. In Taiwan, runaway worker is a major issue in managing migrant workers. Many scholars have attempted to explain the phenomenon of runaway workers and most of them attributed to the Taiwanese guest worker policy as the major cause. Considering that Indonesian runaway workers’ number is relatively high in the past few years and none of the scholars conducted a case study research on this particular issue, this is where this thesis will make contribution; by providing an analysis from two perspectives, namely the perspective of the sending country and. 21.

(31) that of the receiving country, in dealing with the phenomenon of runaway Indonesian workers in Taiwan.. RESEARCH DESIGN Research Statement The research statement of this thesis is Taiwan’s guest worker policy and ineffective cooperation between Indonesia and Taiwan have imposed excessive burden on Indonesian guest. 政治大. workers, hence contributing inadvertently to the relatively high numbers of runaway Indonesian workers in Taiwan.. 立. Figure 3. Framework of Research Statement. ‧ 國. 學 Relatively High Number of runaway Indonesian workers. al. er. io. sit. Nat. y. ‧. Ineffective Cooperation between Indonesia and Taiwan. Taiwan’s Guest worker Policy. n. Source: concluded by the author.. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. Methodology This thesis intends to describe the Taiwan’s guest worker policy as well as lack thereof cooperation mechanisms between Indonesia and Taiwan’s government in dealing with Indonesian workers issue, particularly Indonesian runaway workers. In order to analyze and explain the relations between the policies, cooperation and runaway Indonesian workers issue in Taiwan, this thesis will implement three different research methods: document analysis, surveys and in-depth interview. 22.

(32) The first method, document analysis, uses several documents relating to migrant worker and labor’s export issues, including United Nation’s International Conventions on Human Rights, government’s policies and law, memorandum of understanding between Indonesia and Taiwan, statistical data about the state of Indonesian workers in Taiwan, as well as reports from the Indonesian government regarding the labor exportation issue. Due to language barriers, few scholars have examined the Indonesian government’s policies on labor export. Document analysis method is meant to get accurate information from government policies or statistical data, by which is expected to understand comprehensively Indonesia’s and Taiwan’s policies and. 治政大workers in Taiwan. Further, this cooperation regarding the high number of runaway Indonesian 立. method will analyze whether the implementation of the policies and cooperation is in accordance. ‧ 國. 學. to the practice in reality.. ‧. The second method, the survey, will be conducted to the Indonesian workers who are already captured or kept at the Indonesian workers’ detention centers, to describe the. y. Nat. er. io. sit. phenomenon from the workers’ perspectives. The survey analysis will be conducted based on univariate analysis as the examination of the distribution of cases on only one variable at a. al. n. 68. Ch. i n U. v. time . The univariate analysis is in accordance with the purpose of utilizing the survey.. engchi. I then plan to interview with government officials from IETO, Taiwan’s Bureau of Labor Affairs (BLA/勞工事務局), Taiwan’s National Immigration Agency (NIA/中華民國內政部移民署 ), the Indonesian Workers Task Force in Taiwan (Satuan Tugas Tenaga Kerja Indonesia/Satgas TKI) and the St. Christopher’s church in Taipei (as a representation of Taiwanese nongovernmental organizations) in dealing with runaway foreign workers to enrich the findings on. 68. Babbie, Earl, “Elementary Analysis”, The Practice of Social Research Eighth Edition, (Chapman University: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1998), p. 370-375.. 23.

(33) this issue. In all, the survey and interview helps to prove the research statement addressed in this thesis.. LIMITATIONS AND DEFINITIONS This thesis aims to seek the root causes of runaway Indonesian workers in Taiwan and connect them with the Indonesian and Taiwan government policies and cooperation in overcoming such issue. Therefore this thesis does not provide any policy recommendations for. 治政 Taiwan only, hence no comparative studies are conducted to 大 support the findings. 立. both governments. As for the subject, this thesis limits its analysis to Indonesian workers in. According to Taiwan’s Ministry of Labor (中華民國勞動部), runaway workers is defined. ‧ 國. 學. as foreign workers who become illegal for the following reasons: (i) staying in Taiwan with. ‧. over-stayed tourist visa, (ii) transferring to different employer without the approval from. sit. y. Nat. Ministry of Labor ( 中華民國勞動部 ), or (iii) running away from their employer without any. al. n. OUTLINE. io. third definition.. er. notification for more than three consecutive days. However this research will be focusing on the. Ch. engchi. i n U. v. The thesis will be organized into five chapters. The first chapter, Introduction, specifies the background of Indonesian workers, examines the previous scholarly studies on guest worker policy, particularly European and Asian guest worker policy, as well as the previous studies on runaway foreign workers in Taiwan. Furthermore, this chapter describes the research design, limitations and definitions, as well as outline of the thesis.. 24.

(34) Chapter two describes the development of labor policy from Indonesia and Taiwan. First, the development of Indonesian labor policies since the colonialism era until after reformation era will be elaborated. Moreover, the development of Taiwanese foreign labor policies since 1990s will be presented as well. Lastly, the conclusion presents the objectives of each policy’s development and my analysis. Chapter three presents the result of survey in National Immigration Agency’s Detention Center 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. 政治大 group studies with Indonesian and Taiwan government officials are also presented to affirm the 立. 所) to extract the reason of running away from Indonesian workers directly. Further, the focus. findings of the survey. Lastly, I draw conclusion based on the survey and focus group discussion. ‧ 國. 學. results.. ‧. The fourth chapter analyzes the current labor policy of Indonesia and Taiwan. First, the. sit. y. Nat. Indonesian labor policy regarding the export of labor will be elaborated, followed by the. io. er. Taiwanese guest worker policy. The International Conventions on Human Rights which Indonesia and Taiwan have ratified will also be discussed in order to provide extensive. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. explanation based on the international law. In addition, the bilateral cooperation between. engchi. Indonesia’s and Taiwan’s government in Joint Working Group’s scheme will be analyzed to obtain comprehensive understanding of legal framework in labor issues. The reasons of Indonesian workers to run away from their legal employers obtained from the survey results then will be analyzed using the existing policies and cooperation between Indonesia and Taiwan. The last chapter, Chapter Five, presents the conclusion of the research as well as the recommendation for future research of runaway foreign workers in Taiwan, particularly Indonesian workers.. 25.

(35) CHAPTER 2: THE STATE OF FOREIGN WORKERS. The history of foreign workers is based on different perspectives and aspects, especially between the sending and host states. Each government has its own objectives and evaluations when deciding on policies related to foreign workers. In order to understand the phenomenon more comprehensively, this chapter begins by explaining the history of Indonesian workers, from the colonial rea until the present time. The main focus on this chapter is to see the development. 政治大 governments dominated Indonesian politics, each government surely had its own objective, 立 of policies issued by the Indonesian government in dealing with Indonesian workers. As various. ‧ 國. 學. solutions, and policies in coping with the issues of Indonesian workers.. The second part of this chapter presents the objectives of the Taiwan government in. ‧. admitting foreign workers into their territory, and how the Taiwan government has been dealing. sit. y. Nat. with this phenomenon. By providing descriptions pertaining to foreign workers from both the. io. er. sending and receiving states, this gives a comprehensive understanding related to the issue of. al. n. runaway Indonesian workers in Taiwan. Lastly, the third section summarizes previous discussion. i n C h management system. on the issues related to the foreign workers engchi U. v. THE INDONESIAN PERSPECTIVE: TENAGA KERJA INDONESIA The history of Indonesian overseas workers (Tenaga Kerja Indonesia in the Bahasa Indonesian language, or TKI) can be traced back up to the era of colonialism by the Dutch and British. After Indonesia gained its independence, it faced several regimes changes, with each regime holding different policies in dealing with Indonesian workers, which was improved upon. 26.

(36) after the reformation in 1998. This part focuses on the Indonesian government’s objectives, and the development of policies in regards to the welfare and protection of Indonesian workers.. The Era of Colonialism (1890-1945) During era of colonialism under the Dutch, many Indonesian workers were sent to Suriname and New Caledonia as contract laborers. The transfer of Indonesian workers was meant to replace the African slaves who were freed on July 1, 1863, after the abolition of slavery. 69. 治政 According to the Indonesian government records,大 the very first Indonesian workers 立. were sent abroad on May 21, 1890, on the Dutch ship Koningin Emma, which arrived in. ‧ 國. 學. Suriname on August 9, 1890. Most of the Indonesian workers were from Java Island, which had. ‧. the highest population density in Indonesia at the time.. Most Indonesian workers worked in the plantations of foreign private companies.. y. Nat. er. io. sit. International migration was highly influenced by the interests of colonials or foreign private companies, not the willingness of the workers. Therefore, the type of migration during this era. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. was forced migration, and the migrants tended to move permanently.70 The working conditions. engchi. were very poor, with workers lacking any legal protection, specific working hours, or regulations, not to mention low wages. This indicates that such treatment was no different from slavery. On the other hand, British colonialism also employed Indonesian workers for infrastructure development in the Malaya Peninsula in the 20th century. The objective was to 69. 70. BNP2TKI, “Sejarah Penempatan TKI Hingga BNP2TKI”, http://www.bnp2tki.go.id/frame/9003/SejarahPenempatan-TKI-Hingga-BNP2TKI, accessed on July 10, 2015 at 14:11. Utari Romauli Sitorus, “Sejarah Tenaga Kerja Indonesia,” in Hubungan Bilateral Indonesia-Malaysia Studi Analisis: Dampak Ekonomi dan Politik dari Pengiriman Tenaga Kerja Indonesia ke Malaysia Periode 20042009, (Medan: University of North Sumatera, 2013), p.24-25.. 27.

(37) support British’s interests in achieving its economic expansion by developing its colonies. Nevertheless, the type of Indonesian workers under the British colonizers was slightly different than their Dutch counterpart. Even though their status was still that of contract laborers, they were working in Malaysia voluntarily. During this time, the exchange between Indonesian and Malaysian workers was reciprocal, as many Malaysian workers also worked voluntarily in Indonesia. However, there were still no legal codes or regulations protecting the rights and obligations of Indonesian workers.. The Old Order Era (1945-1966). 立. 政治大. After Indonesia gained its independence, the movement of Indonesian workers to. ‧ 國. 學. Malaysia continued. However, the Old Order regime under President Soekarno did not pay too. ‧. much attention to migrant workers, as its focus was the early domestic development and the enhancement of nationalism among Indonesian people after the long era of colonialism.. y. Nat. er. io. sit. The era of independence marked the emergence of the Indonesian Ministry of Labor. On July 3, 1947, the Ministry of Manpower was established through Government Regulation No.. n. al. Ch. i n U. v. 3/1947 with the main responsibility of managing labor-related issues in Indonesia.71 However,. engchi. the Ministry of Labor mainly focused on Indonesian laborers in the domestic context due to their strong influence and involvement in the political realm. There was no historical record related to the policies regulating the welfare or protection of Indonesian overseas workers. Despite the limited scope, the establishment of the Ministry of Labor was in accordance with national interests at that time, which was to strengthen the domestic national development.. 71. BNP2TKI, op.cit.. 28.

(38) The New Order Era (1966-1998) The New Order era marked a new beginning for Indonesian workers, as President Soeharto was planning to integrate Indonesia’s economy to the world. With abundant oil as natural resources, the New Order regime started to perceive human resources as one of the means to draw foreign investors’ through providing cheap labor. 72 Exporting human resources was perceived as one of the solutions to cope with the high unemployment rate on the domestic level.. 治政大 called Pembangunan Lima Tahun (Pelita). 立. At the same time, the New Order regime also carried a five-year national development project,. As the first step, the New Order regime changed the name of the Ministry of Manpower. ‧ 國. 學. to the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, responsible for issuing policies and. ‧. regulations related to Indonesian workers. The first official program initiated by the Ministry of Labor and Transmigration was called Labor Movement Between Regions (Angkatan Kerja Antar. y. Labor. Movement. Between. Countries. (Angkatan. io. sit. and. Nat. Daerah/AKAD). Kerja. Antar. n. al. er. Negeri/AKAN) under Government Regulation No. 4/1970. 73 AKAN was divided into two. Ch. i n U. v. divisions based on regions, which were the Middle East and the Asia Pacific regions. Based on. engchi. this policy, the government collaborated with the private sector in arranging the placements and destinations of workers. However, in 1994, AKAN was dissolved and replaced by the Directorate of Indonesian Workers’ Service Export. Concerned about the role of private companies in facilitating the placement of Indonesian workers, the government attempted to regulate them firmly. Through Ministerial Decree No. 129/Men/1983, the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration regulated business licenses, rights 72 73. Riwanto Tirtosudarmo, Mencari Indonesia: Demografi Politik Pasca Soeharto, Jakarta:LIPI Press, 2002, p. 4. BNP2TKI, Sejarah Penempatan TKI Hingga BNP2TKI. (http://www.bnp2tki.go.id/berita-mainmenu-231/beritafoto-mainmenu-31/4054-sejarah-penempatan-tki-hingga-bnp2tki-.htm accessed on December 19, 2013 at 16.10). 29.