Labor

Taiwan, Be on the Right Side of History When It Comes to Labor Migration

A few months before the presidential elections, I gave a talk in Taipei on the responsible recruitment of migrant workers, where they do not bear the cost of their job recruitment and begin their employment saddled by debt. Afterwards, a participant came up to ask me which presidential candidate I thought would stand the best chance to reform Taiwan’s labour recruitment system towards the Employers Pays Principle, where the costs of recruitment are borne by the employers...

Corporatization of the Taiwan Railways Administration Represents Defeat for Labor

The corporatization of the Taiwan Railways Administration, changing it from an agency of government into the state-owned enterprise of the Taiwan Railways Corporation, puts an end to a long-run labor struggle by workers. The struggle went on for many years, but the inability of workers to stop the corporatization reflects the weakness, in many ways, of Taiwanese labor...

One Thousand March in Taipei Calling For End To Broker System

During International Human Rights Day on December 10th, an estimated one thousand migrant workers from Southeast Asia together with Taiwanese labor and human rights activists marched on the streets of Taipei for the second biannual migrant worker rally with the theme “No Justice in Cross-Border Employment, Where is the Responsibility of the Government?”. The protest was to call for the abolishment of the private broker system and direct government to government hiring between Taiwan and the nation of origin, as well as strengthened public services for migrant workers especially for those that face abuse from employers...

Wave of Racism Sweeps Taiwanese Social Media Over Plans to Allow for Indian Migrant Workers

Taiwanese social media has seen a wave of posts reacting to the possibility of opening up Taiwan to Indian workers. In particular, the posts are xenophobic in nature, framing Indians as rapists who would sexually assault Taiwanese women if they are allowed into Taiwan. This has led to online calls for a march against the planned opening up...

Unions Demand Reform of Pension System

Union groups demonstrated in front of the Executive Yuan earlier this week over pensions, calling for an increase in the minimum contribution to pensions from employers. The groups included the Taiwan Confederation of Trade Unions, the Taiwan Federation of Financial Unions, the Taipei City Confederation of Trade Unions, the Kaohsiung City Confederation of Trade Unions, the Taipower Union, the Taiwan High-Speed Rail Union, and the Taiwan Water Industry Union. This represents among Taiwan’s largest trade confederations, as well as a number of workers from state-owned enterprises...