About 30 Indonesian migrant workers gathered outside the Indonesian Economic and Trade Office (IETO) to Taipei yesterday to demand better protection of their rights and the abolition of the broker system.
During the rally, Indonesians working in the caregiving and manufacturing sectors urged the IETO to put an end to the broker system and improve the office’s services.
Holding signs with slogans such as “stop overcharging” and “Sunday service every week,” they shared experiences of what they described as poor treatment by brokers or the IETO.
Photo: CNA
“When I was in Indonesia, I signed a contract to take care of an elderly person [in Taiwan]. However, when I arrived in Taiwan, I was assigned to work on a farm,” said Maesaroh, a migrant worker who has been in Taiwan for less than a year.
Unable to endure the pain in her back from shoveling dirt from dawn to dusk every day, she asked the broker to allow her to change jobs.
“They threatened me, saying that if I switched to another employer, I would have to pay tens of millions of Indonesian rupiah as penalties [for violating the contract],” Maesaroh said, choking up, referring to an amount equal to tens of thousands of New Taiwan dollars.
The broker system was legalized in 1992 to introduce overseas workers to employment opportunities in Taiwan, manage the workers and help them process any necessary documents while in Taiwan.
Muchsin, an Indonesian factory worker who broke his leg in a work-related incident, recounted an incident in which an IETO staff member conducted a live broadcast on TikTok to share information about labor regulations.
“I asked him about the rights of migrant workers who fall ill and those who suffer from work-related injuries... He became angry and blocked my account,” Muchsin said.
“According to the [Indonesian] government’s slogan ‘Protect Indonesian migrant workers from head to toe,’ they should protect and uphold my rights,” he added.
The IETO should also increase the frequency of office services on Sundays — the day of the week when most migrant workers can take their days off — to more than just once a month, said Fajar, a caregiver and the president of the Indonesian workers solidarity organization Ganas Community, which organized the rally.
At the end of the rally, Iqbal Shoffan Shofwan, head of the IETO and Indonesia’s representative to Taiwan, received a petition from the group after discussing their appeals with them.
He said the office would discuss those issues and look into how their services can be improved.
“It is our responsibility to respond to all of the demands of our migrant workers,” Iqbal said. “We should not ignore any demand that comes from our migrant workers.”
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
President William Lai (賴清德) should protect Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), and stop supporting domestic strife and discord, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrote on Facebook yesterday. US President Donald Trump and TSMC on Monday jointly announced that the company would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next few years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US. The TSMC plans have promoted concern in Taiwan that it would effectively lead to the chipmaking giant becoming Americanized. The Lai administration lacks tangible policies to address concerns that Taiwan might follow in Ukraine’s footsteps, Ma wrote. Instead, it seems to think it could
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
RSS