Migrante – Taiwan is one with Taiwanese labor groups’ in demanding to have a substantial increase in the wages of all working people in Taiwan. This should cover all workers including those not covered by the labor standards law including those from the service sector and household service workers.

At the same time the foreign workers are calling on the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) to ensure that unjust legal deductions of from 25 – 64% on their basic pay be stopped. This includes those working in homes as caregivers and maids that make any wage hike a mockery for them.

Last year the minimum wage was raised by 9.09%. But there was also a 25% increase on the board and lodging fees imposed on migrants covered by the Labor Standards Law (LSL) while those working in homes as caregivers and maids were excluded from the hike as they are not included in the protection of said law. The real minimum wage of migrant workers are only from NT$6,195 - NT$11,877 a month.

These unjust legal deductions are against the pronouncements of the International Labor Organization (ILO) which stated that the law seeks to protect the worker from excessive deductions not only by prescribing the maximum proportion of earnings which may be deducted, but also by providing that the minimum wage should remain immune from deductions.

Clearly this is not the case in Taiwan as all migrant workers have to pay an average of NT$1583 a month for brokers service fees; are required to be deducted payment for income tax including a 20% non-refundable tax when one comes to Taiwan after the 1st of July; and pay for their own Alien Residence Certificates (ARC) and periodic medical examinations. The 20% non-refundable tax is equivalent to those having a taxable income of NT$1,090,001 – NT$2,180,000 per annum.

Those covered by the labor law can be charged for up to NT$5,000 a month for their board and lodging fees. Indonesians on the other hand have to pay up to NT$6,703 a month for 15 months through China Trust Bank for their placement fees back home. This does not include payment of placement fees of other nationalities back home and after every three years even if they come back to their same employers. Other than these and because of the weakening of the US dollar, the equivalent of the remitted earnings of the migrant workers to their families has gone down in value by 16-20%.

There is also an NT$2,000 Employment Stabilization Fund imposed on employers hiring foreign caregivers. This should be scrapped to give them economic relief as said fund is not successful. There was a study made that if foreign caregivers are not allowed to work in Taiwan only 30% of Taiwanese families would be willing to hire local caregivers as their pay is almost 4 times that of migrant workers.

Direct Hiring should also be mandatory and cover all job categories and not only at the employers’ discretion and for rehires as what the present Special Hiring Program for Taiwan (SHPT) stipulates. This is especially true for caregivers who take care of the aged and disabled because of the Taiwan government’s relegation of this vital essential service to the private sector. This is consistent with the Taiwan government’s commitments to the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), which is one of the agreements administered by the World Trade Organization.

Sending governments like that of the Philippines should not remain silent on the issue of wage increase for its nationals including calling for the scrapping of all unjust legal deductions on their workers. As the Philippine government will now host the Global Forum on Migration and Development this coming end of October which will supposedly talk about the Human Rights of migrant workers.

Migrant workers thus would want to reiterate their demands as follows:

1. Increase the wages of all working people including those in the service sector and household service workers!

2. Abolish the brokers’ monthly service fees and implement mandatory direct hiring on all migrant workers!

3. Abolish the board and lodging fees!

4. Abolish the Employment Stabilization Fund on those hiring foreign caregivers!

5. Include all working people specially those from the service sector and household service workers under the protection of the Labor Standards Law!

Long Live International Solidarity!

Migrante - Taiwan