Hundreds of migrant workers from three Southeast Asian countries working in Taiwan held a mass action in front of the representative buildings of Vietnam, the Philippines, and the Indonesian Economic and Trade Office for Taipei (IETO Taipei) in Taiwan, Sunday (3/11/2019).
The migrant worker demonstration was organized by the Taiwan International Workers Association (TIWA), the Migrant Empowerment Network (MENT), the Communication Forum for Indonesian Migrant Workers in Taiwan (FKPMIT) and several other organizations, demanding the government to include domestic workers (PRT) in the Act. employment, abolishing the private agency system and immediately imposing a government-to-government system (G to G).
The protest, which began at 11 a.m., urged the Ministry of Manpower to immediately abolish the brokerage system, to prevent the dangerous exploitation of migrant workers who are overcharged, monopolized by the labor market and make it difficult for workers to access information, and are highly vulnerable to fraud and intimidation.
As reported by Taiwannews TIWA Commissioner, Betty Chen said that job opportunities for migrant workers are now monopolized by private agencies, and even official employment services are also a place to monopolize migrant workers.
According to the report, there are discrepancies between the fees charged to migrant workers from different countries and for different types of work. The Indonesian government sets a limit on fees charged by industry between 13.5 million and 18 million rupiah which cannot be paid in cash, but must be paid by loan.
Demonstrators said the government, agencies and migrant workers realized that in addition to paying legal agency fees, migrant workers also had to pay another “illegal agency fee”, the fee is currently around 45 million rupiah. Where the agency will not provide proof of payment to migrant workers, which results in migrant workers unable and no way to complain.
One of the participants in the action, Fajar, the chairman of the Ganas SPA Community, although the demonstration that voiced most of the problems of migrant workers in Taiwan did not receive a response from state representatives, he hoped that the improvement of conditions for migrant workers from violations by the agency would soon be realized, due to the lack of clarity in program policies. Direct Hiring and also a contract extension system without having to go home, as well as real protection from the government against PMI in Taiwan.
In addition to voicing their demands with orations and singing, they also perform theater performances as a symbol of resistance, against the current government system that has not fully sided with the workers. Follow-up action will be held on December 8.
