TAIWAN - MIGRATION IN 1999

Labor migration in Taiwan, initiated in the early 1990s, has become a stable component of the economy. At the end of the year, foreign workers in Taiwan had reached 294,967, of whom 139,526 from Thailand, 113,928 from the Philippines, and 41,224 from Indonesia. Most of them are employed in manufacturing (173,735), construction (45,446) and social and personal services (74,793). However, the call for a reduction of the foreign workforce was voiced repeatedly. In this regard, the Council for Labor Affairs (CLA) maintained that foreign workers should not be seen in competition with local workers and do not affect unemployment in Taiwan. At the same time, a ceiling of 300,000 foreign workers will be maintained. In an attempt to provide more stability in the labor market (foreign workers cannot stay more than three years in Taiwan and cannot return at the end of their employment contract), the CLA suggested in April a revision of art. 51 of the Employment and Service Act, allowing workers who have not violated the law to return after 40 days and be re-employed for another term not to exceed six years. However, the Executive and Legislative Yuan did not approve the proposal.

Complaint against hiring of foreign workers was voiced repeatedly by representatives of aboriginal workers. Yang Jen-fu, a legislator from the Kuomintang, pointed out that while the number of foreign workers was increasing, unemployment among aborigines was also increasing from 3.2 in 1998 to 7.5 percent. Another legislator, Lin Cheng-er, revealed that the average working days of aborigines have declined from 20 to 12 days a month.

Issues concerning foreign workers, in particular increasing recruiting fees and runaway workers, were subject of discussion in various meetings between representatives of the Philippine and Thai governments and the CLA. In June CLA revealed that the average placement fee paid by foreign workers was NT$69,457. Thai workers paid the highest placement fee at NT$77,861, followed by Filipinos at NT$56,897, Indonesians at NT$48,970, and Malaysian at NT$31,823. The number of runaways in 1999 (4,057) was 14 percent lower than in 1998, a trend that started in 1996. Filipinos (1,882) were the most numerous, followed by the Thais (1,403) and the Indonesians (760). However, the rate of Indonesians (1.8 percent) was higher than that of Filipinos (1.6 percent) or Thais (1.0 percent). Considering the plight household helpers and caretakers, the Hope Workers Center suggested including them under the protection of the Labor Standards Law.

To diminish illegal employment of foreign workers, penalties were increased in April. Illegal employers would be sentenced to at most three years in jail and a fine of NT$900,000. Fines were increased also for employers requiring workers to perform duties not covered in the contract. Irregular workers can be fined up to NT$90,000, illegal recruiters can be jailed for a year and fined NT$300,000, while an unregistered agency can be fined up to NT$1.5 million. The number of illegal immigrants from mainland China held in detention centers was approximately 1,000 in June.

Controversies surrounding foreign workers, and in particular the resonance that a turmoil between Filipino and Thai workers received in the public opinion, led the Thai government to expand the number of countries of origin of foreign workers. An agreement was signed between Taiwan and Vietnam on May 6 to hire Vietnamese workers mainly in the manufacturing and construction sectors. By the end of 1999, Vietnamese workers in Taiwan were 131.