The Control Yuan yesterday censured the Ministry of Labor and the New Taipei City Government for negligence that resulted in the exploitation of more than 60 foreign fishers and which tarnished the nation’s international image.
Last year, at least 64 fishers were found to have been mistreated and had their wages withheld during the fishing off-season, contravening the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法), Control Yuan members Wang Yu-ling (王幼玲) and Chi Hui-jung (紀惠容) found last year.
The government officials who oversaw the fishers were negligent and took no action despite inspecting their living quarters, they said, issuing an official corrective measure reprimanding the Ministry of Labor and New Taipei City Government for negligence and misconduct.
Photo: Fang Wei-li, Taipei Times
Labor laws require foreign workers to sign a three-year contract, but some employers circumvented this by forcing foreign fishers to sign a statement declaring “their willingness to opt out of the signed work contract” during the fishery’s off-season in winter, Wang said.
The foreign fishers were forced to sign the statement to make it seem as if they had been willing to take unpaid leave, Wang said.
After receiving the complaint last year, Wang and Chi inspected an old boarding house in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) where they found many foreign workers crammed into a 40 ping (132m2) residence, which at one point held as many as 80 people, the Control Yuan members said.
“The foreign fishers were living in terrible conditions as their quarters had no washroom, no hot water and no air-conditioning. During the off-season, they received no wages, but had to pay their boss for meals and accommodation,” Chi said.
The Control Yuan members said the foreign fishers were virtually prisoners, as their passports were held by the labor brokerage agency, turning them into “undocumented migrant workers” that had gone into hiding and taken on illegal jobs.
Ministry officials told Wang and Chi that the 64 foreign fishers were managed by three foreign labor brokerage agencies and hired by 45 different employers, so during the fishery off-season, labor brokers “pooled them together” for easier control, quartering them at two old boarding houses.
“Labor ministry and New Taipei City Government officials were negligent and did not check for potential labor violations nor provide assistance after they became aware of the situation. We found that inspections had been carried out after receiving complaints, but the inspectors notified the brokerage agencies ahead of time so they could prepare for the visit,” Chi said.
“Inspectors are aware of the inequality in power and legal status between foreign fishers, and employers and labor brokers. Yet, inspectors chose to hear only one side and reported that the foreign fishers had agreed to opt out of their contracts, were willing to wait for the start of the fishing season and cited individual circumstances for agreeing to undergo unpaid leave during the off-season,” she added.
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated