Sarah Arencibiaby Sarah Arencibia
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English
Photo Credit: Naomi Goddard
SEVERAL HUNDRED PEOPLE marched from the Ministry of Labor to the Legislative Yuan in Taipei on Sunday to protest the 12-year work limit on migrant workers’ employment in Taiwan. A sea of red headbands touted the phrase: “Abolish the work-year limit.”
“We speak because fishermen are still dying at sea, factory workers are still silenced by contract renewal bans, and caretakers are still excluded from basic labor protections,” said Robert Owen Ganas, speaker for Migrante Taiwan. “We speak because both the Taiwanese government and the Philippine government treat us as disposable; useful when we make money, invisible when we demand rights.”
Protester marches through Taipei Main City holding up a sign that reads “Abolish the work-year limit!” in English and Mandarin. Photo credit: Naomi Goddard
Amongst the crowds of protestors, migrant workers dressed in red and white marble shirts and white cardboard boxes and wrapped themselves in plastic film to portray almost-expired raw meat. Other migrant workers strapped faux bombs made of black lanterns to their backs.
At the end of the march, stickers labeled “Expired” were put on the migrants’ raw meat costumes. Throughout the march, numbers 3, 6, 9, and eventually 12 were placed on the bombs, mirroring migrant workers’ recurring contract renewal every three years, up to the 12-year termination deadline.
A migrant protester stands in front of the Legislative Yuan building in Taipei, Taiwan dressed as expired raw meat. Photo credit: Naomi Goddard
The bomb squad–the protestors wearing the faux bombs–threw them at the front gates of the Legislative Yuan building, a strong show of anger at the Taiwanese government officials responsible for the pressure they feel the limit puts on their lives.
The workers were joined by several national and international non-profit organizations and unions–the Migrant Empowerment Network in Taiwan (MENT), Taiwan International Workers Association (TIWA), Domestic Caretakers Union Tauyuan, Serikat Buruh Industri Perawatan Taiwan (SBIPT), Caritas Taiwan, Presbyterian Church in Taiwan Labor Concern Center (LCC), STELLA MARIS-AOS International Service Center, Hsinchu Catholic Diocese Migrants and Immigrants Service Center (HMISC), Hsinchu Catholic Diocese Hope Workers Center (HWC)–who helped organized the march, dedicated to fighting for migrant workers’ rights.
The bomb-squad throws faux lantern bombs at the front gates of the Legislative Yuan building in Taipei, Taiwan. Photo credit: Naomi Goddard
Migrant workers who immigrate to Taiwan are barred from working in the country longer than 12 years. Every three years, they are required to renew their work permits, approval of which is fully reliant on their employers. This contract renewal must be submitted by their employers to the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) of the Ministry of Labor.
According to Jin Ru Wu, TIWA organizer and researcher, the Taiwanese government incorporated this limit to make the path to citizenship inaccessible to migrant workers. She believes the limit should be abolished because, with or without the limit, becoming an Alien Permanent Resident Card (APRC) holder is near impossible, as it would require migrant workers to achieve a salary double that of the minimum wage.
“We should be the ones to decide if we want to stay working in Taiwan or not, not our employer,” said Wu.
As of February 17, the WDA instituted a new employment policy, allowing migrant workers to transition from their current work status to “intermediate skilled foreign workers” through the Long-term Retention of Skilled Foreign Workers Program.
However, this program is accessible to migrant workers under the sole discretion of their employers, who determine if the workers are at the designated skill or salary level. Their employers are then responsible for applying for the migrant workers’ new work permit status.
Migrant workers at the protest expressed their frustration with this policy, stating it makes them feel expendable. Instead of renewing work permits of current migrant workers, the government opts to hire new workers in order to turn a higher profit, according to Ganas.
[Employers have] been using these same tactics not to renew migrant workers contracts, if they file a complaint, if they’re trying to speak up for their own rights—it’s technically legal under Taiwan law,” said Ganas.
The limit is a discriminatory, classist practice, said Ganas, as it only applies to blue collar migrant workers, and doesn’t affect white collar migrant workers.
Protesters echoed his sentiments, stating the new skilled foreign workers policy is not reform, but a method of manipulation aimed at keeping blue collar migrant workers under the thumbs of their employers, according to the MENT press release.
There are approximately 850,000 migrant workers in Taiwan who shoulder an often undesirable workload as fishermen, caretakers for the young and elderly, and construction workers, supplementing the need for local labor. These workers are the backbone of the end-of-life care, housekeeping communities and public work projects in Taiwan, yet feel undervalued and invisible to the Taiwanese government.
Opening statements and chants throughout the protest were spoken in at least four different languages: Mandarin, English, Tagalog, and Bahasa Indonesian.
Restrictions on migrant work in Taiwan are a multi-national issue, affecting individuals in countries across Southeast Asia.
Protesters raise their fists during a chant in front of the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, Taiwan. Photo credit: Naomi Goddard
Fajar, a current migrant worker and caretaker in Taiwan, was forced to leave her home country, Indonesia, due to a lack of employment opportunities in the country. She moved to Taiwan to secure a higher-paying job, at which she could afford to send money to her children back home.
She preferred to only be referred to by first name in order to protect her employment status.
Fajar has been living and working in Taiwan for over 12 years, and was able to achieve intermediate skilled foreign worker status, which means she is allowed to work in Taiwan indefinitely.
Originally working as a caretaker for the elderly 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Fajar’s situation hasn’t improved much. She still has to work around the clock, as most caregivers do.
Even though she won’t be directly affected by the abolishment of the work-year limit, she has many friends who are dealing with harsher working conditions than she had been.
According to Fajar, the skilled workers program should not be treated as a solution to migrant issues. It is extremely difficult to achieve the salary or skill level necessary to become an intermediate skilled foreign worker; only 4.7% of migrant workers become intermediate-skilled, according to MENT.
Abolishment of the work-year limit would be a much faster and more reliable avenue towards a better quality of life for migrant workers, she said.
Despite these working conditions, many workers are enticed to migrate to Taiwan for higher wages and salaries offered in comparison to most other Southeast Asian countries. Additionally, the growing aging population and declining birth rate in the country have led to a high demand for labor in the construction and caregiving industries. Taiwan’s National Health Insurance program and top safety rankings in global charts also encourages immigration.
Since low wages and poverty are driving people to Taiwan for work opportunities, the migrant population will continue to flourish in Taiwan. Protestors feel there needs to be an improvement in the treatment of blue collar migrant workers, which starts with abolishment of the 12-year limit.
Protestors also called on the Ministry of Labor to end contract-based exploitation, protect union officers, ban abusive employers and brokers, and to recognize migrant workers and their rights.
“Let’s keep fighting and let’s keep building unions, because when migrants stand together, we are no longer powerless, we become a force that no company, no power, no ministry can ignore,” said Ganas.
*Disclaimer: The interview with Fajar was conducted through/using two translators.