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Taiwanese firms cutting cost at expense of workers, migrant groups lament

yauzong — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 13:08:58 +0800

MANILA, Philippines — Migrants groups on Tuesday criticized Taiwanese employers hit by the economic crunch for allegedly resorting to various cost-cutting schemes at the expense of their workers, both local and foreign.

The Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants and Migrante – Taiwan chapter said at present, more than 700,000 Taiwanese workers are being subjected to unpaid leave, while thousands of others have been terminated from work.

APPM said other cost-cutting measures such as non-payment of unused leaves are detrimental to workers rights and welfare.

Unfortunately, the group said, all that the Taiwanese government has done is come up with a so-called model contract for unpaid leave that in effect makes the practice by capitalists legal.

The groups said migrant workers face unrelenting termination of jobs and are forced to sign agreements that breach their contracts.

To date, more than 5,000 Filipino migrant workers have been laid off and reportedly more Thais have been terminated from work, it said.

"Many are either forced to sign termination papers so that their employers would not be liable to pay them any benefits including airfare back home, or sign no-work, no-pay agreements by their employers and brokers," said Gi Estrada, APMM area coordinator .

The group lamented that "every time there is a recession caused by neo-liberal policies the rights and welfare of all working people are the first to be sacrificed. This is so because adherents of neo-liberal policies blame the economic crisis on the high wages of the working people and the subsidies governments are providing their nationals through its social services."

APPM explained that labor flexibility measures have been implemented to all workers in Taiwan. In 2001, the non-payment of overtime pay in lieu of more days off like the "three days work, one day off" was introduced. At the same time for migrant workers, the monthly brokers' fees and deduction of the board and lodging fees was legalized. In essence, since then, all migrant workers were earning less than the minimum wage.

It said migrant workers covered by the Labor Standards Law could end up with monthly deductions of up to NT$5,666 (US$171.9) a month for a three-year period for paying the fees. This increased by another NT$1,000 (US$30) in 2007.

These fees do not even include other payment like the yearly Alien Residence Certificate; periodic medical examinations; medical and labor insurance; and even payment for income tax. If the placement fee paid by migrant workers in their home countries or paid through salary deductions is added, this would be much higher.

APMM said the Philippine government was even an accessory to these practices when its Labor Attaché in Taipei defended ASE (Advanced Semi-Conductor Engineering Co. Ltd), a giant company that had a net income of NT$2 billion for the third quarter of 2008, for not paying fully the airfare of its retrenched nationals.

"Both local and migrant workers are the ones suffering in this present global recession. But governments are keener in bailing out the capitalists instead of their working people," the group said.

APMM and Migrante -Taiwan have called on local and migrant workers to unite against neo-liberal policies that attack their jobs, wages and rights.

The group also said they will support the local worker's demands against unpaid leave. They groups said there also should not be any grave effects to the worker's labor insurance and other benefits and the Taiwan Coulcil of labor Affairs (CLA) should subsidize the workers and not businesses.

Both groups expressed support to the position of the Alliance for Human Rights Legislation for Immigrants and Migrants (AHRLIM) which are the following:

(1) The employers who breach contracts to terminate migrants should be penalized;

(2) If migrants cannot transfer to new employers, the contract-breaching employers should give migrant workers severance pay for the three year contracts;

(3) The brokers should pay the penalty to the migrant workers for the breach of the three-year contracts.

Additionally, the airfare of migrant workers should be automatically provided to them as stipulated in Article 4.2 of their employment contracts and that the no-work, no-pay policy should be declared illegal as this violates their original contracts, the groups said. - GMANews.TV

資料日期:

2009/12/30