MIGRATION: The Thailand Trade and Economic Office said that Taiwan’s refusal to allow migrant workers to find employment directly was driving them to South Korea
STAFF WRITER, WITH CNA

Monday, Jul 14, 2008, Page 2
Welcoming an initiative by the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) to gradually integrate migrant workers in the manufacturing industry into a direct employment system by the end of this year, the Thailand Trade and Economic Office (TTEO) in Taipei called for a comprehensive plan to improve foreign workers’ rights.

The direct employment program, initiated by the council in January despite protests by labor brokers, at present only covers foreign caregivers, mostly from Indonesia, who can now renew their contracts with the same employer without fear of exploitation by unscrupulous brokers.

To date, about 4,000 applications have been filed with the CLA, said Tsai Meng-liang (蔡孟良), director of the council’s foreign workers administration division.

Tsai said that the CLA would expand the measure to also include migrant workers in the manufacturing industry.

Last year, 90 percent of the 87,000 Thai workers in Taiwan were employed in the manufacturing industry, the CLA said.

TTEO Executive Director Arbhorn Manasvanich said in an interview that direct employment was the key to improving conditions for Thai workers.

Manasvanich said that the government should allow migrant workers to seek direct employment to help prevent them from being exploited by brokers.

Labor experts say that foreign laborers on average have to pay a NT$200,000 for brokerage fees, the equivalent of one-and-a-half years’ wages.

“The Taiwanese government has to put direct employment into effect,” Manasvanich said, adding that some workers run away to work illegally because of the unreasonably high brokerage fees.

Manasvanich said the declining number of Thai workers in Taiwan was mainly because of exploitation by brokers.

In recent years, she said, South Korea had replaced Taiwan as the top choice for migrant workers from Thailand, as South Korean companies are able to recruit foreign workers directly, allowing the workers to save more money.

CLA statistics showed that the number of Thai workers in Taiwan in February had decreased by 6,000 people compared with the same period last year.

Even though the number has declined, Manasvanich said that Taiwan was still the biggest market for them, as the “3D” ― dirty, difficult and dangerous ― industries in Taiwan still need a lot of workers and that Taiwan is not far from Thailand.