Serikat Buruh Industri Perawatan Taiwan (SBIPT), a union of Indonesian caregivers working for Taiwanese families and nursing homes, officially launched on Sunday in Taipei.
SBIPT director Fajar said that over the past four months, she helped recruit 40 members to meet the legal threshold of at least 30 members, while establishing the required articles of association needed to be formally registered as a union.
Asked why many Indonesian workers in Taiwan do not seem to seek unionization, Fajar said it was due to the fear of getting into trouble with migrant worker employment agencies, which could result in them losing their jobs.
Photo: Screen grab from Facebook page of Taiwan International Workers’ Association
For SBIPT to grow and advocate for workers’ rights, more Indonesian caregivers need to learn about the importance of unions, she said.
As many Indonesian caregivers enjoy singing karaoke, the union might hold karaoke events at which it can inform Indonesian caregivers of the benefits of the union, she said.
Taiwan International Workers’ Association (TIWA) member Kevin Chang (張郁) agreed, saying that most migrant workers in Taiwan only consider joining a union when they encounter trouble.
To address the problem, some migrant workers’ rights groups have organized online meetings with migrant caregivers to raise awareness among Indonesians of the importance of unions when it comes to issues such as advocating for raising the minimum wage for domestic caregivers, he said.
As domestic caregivers in Taiwan are not protected by the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法), they receive a minimum monthly wage of NT$20,000, much lower than the minimum wage for workers in other sectors, which is NT$27,470, and many of them only get one day off a month or in some cases no days off, he said.
The TIWA assisted the SBIPT in becoming a union, offering it help to officially register with the government, educating members about the purpose of unions and ensuring members understood Taiwan’s laws and regulations, Chang added.
Members of several Taiwanese labor rights groups attended the launch to show their support, including the Alliance of Educare Trade Unions and the Taoyuan Confederation of Trade Unions.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
RSS