ML Publication
There is Basis for Solidarity Between Local and Migrant Workers in Taiwan
Gi Estrada APMMF
A great number of workers in Taiwan wonder if there is really a basis for solidarity between them and migrant workers. This is further made difficult by a simplistic analysis made by some local groups that migrant workers are the main cause of unemployment and the lowering of local workers working conditions. They even state that the importation of foreign labor has lowered local industry's incentive to upgrade their production and that migrant workers cause a lot of social problems.
One important basis for solidarity between migrants and locals lies in the similarities in their working conditions. The similarities are prominent even though migrant workers are paid less and their working conditions are far worse than locals.
In the recently concluded Labor Summit organized by the National Federation of Industrial Unions in Kaohsiung on September 29-30 some of these similarities emerged. Local workers talked about the introduction of labor flexibility in the labor market. They mentioned the introduction of labor contractualization, which the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) is encouraging. The second one is increasing overtime to as high as 96 hours a month without pay as long as the union agrees to this in writing. One of the workers from the Railway union also complained that his company did not grant his request for retirement even if he had worked for 25 years as is stipulated in the Labor Standards Law. The Railway Company is insisting that company rules state that workers could only retire if they reach the age of 65 years. Another worker also shared that many companies do not base their pension scheme on their regular pay but on a lower pay scale.
The local workers' experience in all four examples is very familiar to migrant workers. All migrants are contract workers with a two-year contract that can be extended to another year. When their contracts end, they get neither severance pay nor pension. Many migrants also are either not paid their overtime pay or are paid below that is stipulated in the Labor Standards Law. In the INFODISK Technology Co. factory in Taipei County, migrants are forced to work overtime in their days-off at piece rates which average $NT30 an hour. Those who refuse to do overtime are fined $NT 500 for the first offense and would be sent home if they refused a second time.
Most employers who make use of migrant workers also often breach the Labor Standards Law or even the employment contract that they signed with the migrants. In a number of factories, the minimum wage is not given outright but is given with certain conditions. Workers are paid between $NT9, 000 to $NT12, 000 as basic pay and the legal minimum wage would only be completed if they have perfect attendance, good performance and the like. Normally, employers also base the overtime pay on the actual basic wage and not on the legal minimum. Most domestic helpers and caregivers, especially in their first three months of work are not given any days-off. A number of them are only given once or twice a month of days-off.
Overall, why are the conditions of migrant workers and local workers similar on four counts? Employers generally want to maximize their profits even if they are earning billions of NT$. They do these by exploiting workers whether they are locals and migrants.
Knowing that there are possibilities for local and migrant workers to unite to fight for their rights, management tries to break the ties between workers. Filipino workers at Asustek, speak of their experiences that if local workers or even supervisors get too friendly with them, the migrants are transferred to night shift and the supervisors are moved to other departments or branches to avoid any form of solidarity between them.
The four similarities of the working conditions of the local and migrant workers earlier mentioned are all clear examples of labor flexibility measures being imposed by industrialized countries to extract more profit from labor. There is no other way for locals and migrants to go but unite in solidarity to stop exploitation of both sectors. Raising the migrant issue as if it were the main problem for local workers would only work for the interests of employers and would never lead to the advancement of the workers' movement in Taiwan. It would only lead to antagonism among workers and lead to the ugly specter of narrow nationalism instead of internationalism.
A great number of workers in Taiwan wonder if there is really a basis for solidarity between them and migrant workers. This is further made difficult by a simplistic analysis made by some local groups that migrant workers are the main cause of unemployment and the lowering of local workers working conditions. They even state that the importation of foreign labor has lowered local industry's incentive to upgrade their production and that migrant workers cause a lot of social problems.
One important basis for solidarity between migrants and locals lies in the similarities in their working conditions. The similarities are prominent even though migrant workers are paid less and their working conditions are far worse than locals.
In the recently concluded Labor Summit organized by the National Federation of Industrial Unions in Kaohsiung on September 29-30 some of these similarities emerged. Local workers talked about the introduction of labor flexibility in the labor market. They mentioned the introduction of labor contractualization, which the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) is encouraging. The second one is increasing overtime to as high as 96 hours a month without pay as long as the union agrees to this in writing. One of the workers from the Railway union also complained that his company did not grant his request for retirement even if he had worked for 25 years as is stipulated in the Labor Standards Law. The Railway Company is insisting that company rules state that workers could only retire if they reach the age of 65 years. Another worker also shared that many companies do not base their pension scheme on their regular pay but on a lower pay scale.
The local workers' experience in all four examples is very familiar to migrant workers. All migrants are contract workers with a two-year contract that can be extended to another year. When their contracts end, they get neither severance pay nor pension. Many migrants also are either not paid their overtime pay or are paid below that is stipulated in the Labor Standards Law. In the INFODISK Technology Co. factory in Taipei County, migrants are forced to work overtime in their days-off at piece rates which average $NT30 an hour. Those who refuse to do overtime are fined $NT 500 for the first offense and would be sent home if they refused a second time.
Most employers who make use of migrant workers also often breach the Labor Standards Law or even the employment contract that they signed with the migrants. In a number of factories, the minimum wage is not given outright but is given with certain conditions. Workers are paid between $NT9, 000 to $NT12, 000 as basic pay and the legal minimum wage would only be completed if they have perfect attendance, good performance and the like. Normally, employers also base the overtime pay on the actual basic wage and not on the legal minimum. Most domestic helpers and caregivers, especially in their first three months of work are not given any days-off. A number of them are only given once or twice a month of days-off.
Overall, why are the conditions of migrant workers and local workers similar on four counts? Employers generally want to maximize their profits even if they are earning billions of NT$. They do these by exploiting workers whether they are locals and migrants.
Knowing that there are possibilities for local and migrant workers to unite to fight for their rights, management tries to break the ties between workers. Filipino workers at Asustek, speak of their experiences that if local workers or even supervisors get too friendly with them, the migrants are transferred to night shift and the supervisors are moved to other departments or branches to avoid any form of solidarity between them.
The four similarities of the working conditions of the local and migrant workers earlier mentioned are all clear examples of labor flexibility measures being imposed by industrialized countries to extract more profit from labor. There is no other way for locals and migrants to go but unite in solidarity to stop exploitation of both sectors. Raising the migrant issue as if it were the main problem for local workers would only work for the interests of employers and would never lead to the advancement of the workers' movement in Taiwan. It would only lead to antagonism among workers and lead to the ugly specter of narrow nationalism instead of internationalism.
posted by @ 11/12/1999 06:11:00 AM
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