Important news collection

National Conference on Job Security

The Council for Labor Affairs sponsored the National Conference on Job Security, which lasted from September 14-15. Before the conference got under way, activists at ICLE performed a skit and chanted slogans to express their dissatisfaction with the conference. ICLE said that the government has to pay closer attention to industrial change if it wants to end unemployment, including the transfer of factories abroad, factory closures, and the importation of migrant laborers. ICLE also stated that the government must examine what effect entering the WTO, privatization, and other government policies will have on unemployment. It is not acceptable to reduce the question of job security in Taiwan to issues like occupational training and job assistance.

National Labor Conference

The Promoting Committee for National Confederation of Trade Unions(PCNCTU) held the first National Labor Conference in Kaohsiung on September 29-30, discussing political, economic, and social issues related to labor in Taiwan. A joint statement was issued after the meeting, to serve as a model for the labor policies of presidential candidates. The statement includes a clause regarding migrant labor: "There are only capitalists and workers in this world, and we should work in solidarity with our brothers and sisters to struggle against the ever-increasing power of international capital."

Sincere Thanks to Migrant Friends

The Catholic Hope Center held a church service and donation drive entitled "Love Knows No Borders" on Sept. 27. 700-800 Filipino and Thai workers were in attendance to pray for victims of the earthquake and present their donations. Special donations and material support were given to Aboriginal victims of the quake. The Taiwan Aboriginal Tungchou Association and the Jenai Township Government Office expressed that they were moved by the concern shown by migrant workers for the Aboriginal people of Taiwan, who also occupy the bottom rung of the social ladder in Taiwan. The weather is getting colder in Nantou County, but the sincere show of kindness by migrant workers has brought some warmth, said Aboriginal representatives.

Anniversary Celebrations of the IFUGAO Organization Migrant workers spend their days off in the Taipei Train Station, near the church on Chungshan North Road, or in the 228 park, but workers from IFUGAO Province held a different kind of activity on September 12. The workers celebrated the one year anniversary of the founding of the IFUGAO Organization, complete with traditional dancing, singing, and a raffle drawing. The IFUGAO Organization began as a social organization, but now holds regular meetings and occasionally sponsors workshops to give members a chance to exchange their experiences about working in Taiwan, and share the difficulties of working abroad.