Taiwan International Workers Association (TIWA) long focuses on immigrant workers’ rights. In most people’s view, whom they put attentions on are those working in construction sites or the caregiver for elders and persons with disabilities, the so-called “foreign laborers” and “foreign nurses”. However, in Wu’s eyes, they are all laborers with no differences regarding to jobs, social status and colors of collars. They are all “foreign laborers”. So naturally, TIWA put their attentions on this specific law about “high-ranked white-collar workers”.
Wu said that this specific law issued by the National Development Council has problems regarding to “Internship system”, “Tax-reduction”, and “Job seeking visa’. There are so many things that are the most “ridiculous”, “unacceptable”, “preposterous”, “controversial”, “objectionable”, and “disgusting”. We recorded down in a column order to present her comments.
The most ridiculous: National Development Council is the competent authority
The most ridiculous thing I believe in this law is that the competent authority is assigned to the National Development Council. Some may need to discuss with Ministry of Education or Ministry of Labor, but all decisions are come from the National Development Council because no one will say NO to them. Now it is all about economy, even the Ministry of Labor has no authority of the Council. The Ministry itself is like staff under the Council.
The most unacceptable: Job seeking visa for a year
The most unacceptable thing is that when many foreign spouses seeking jobs under the impression of being a marriage fraud, they can have a whole year to find jobs. It is totally ok to give them time. But there are only two months for blue-collar workers to find new jobs when they have issues with former employers. At least give them the same amount of time! Maybe it will cost a big impact with new recruits, but at least you can give the same standard for those blue-collars that are already here, can you? They have contributed for Taiwan, why can’t they have a year for job seeking while white-collar workers can?
The most preposterous: Tax reduction
I see no sense on tax reduction. It is preposterous to earn so much without paying taxes. I mean, even smoking is taxed. It is all just helping employers to save more money for themselves.
The most controversial: Minimum wages
You need to research more clearly when you are trying to regulate the lowest salary level when hiring foreign white-collar workers. Every businesses have their own average payments. Some are higher such as engineer might be above NT$47,971. The laws stated that it is legal to hire professionals if salaries are higher than NT$47,971. But does it meet the average payments in other businesses? If it not, then you are just lowering their salaries.
Several years ago they discussed to bring our workers back from aboard. So they raised the Employment Stability Fund to try balancing quantity with prices while letting you hire more people so you can receive more funds form it. We know some employers rather paid more to Employment Stability Fund to hire more foreign blue-collar workers. Companies saved more than just salaries. Foreign blue-collar workers are easier to handle and companies do not need to pay for their pensions.
All these laws seem to be trivia. You can tell what they really want is the internship in article 20. The other problem is the part about tax-free. In other international cases, internship only causes big problems with many loopholes. We shouldn’t allow this.
The most objectionable: Internship system
Article 20 seems nothing like internship regulation. I once asked THE Union and they shared the same thought. Basically this article aims at foreign graduates or people under two years from their graduation. But you are not a student after graduation. It is clearly they all laborers. This article should be erased.
Mentoring system is what can be called internship. You do and I followed. They are still learning from their internship. After they have done their learnings they can become formal laborers. This is what internship all about. But when you put interns into working places and let them start working for you, then it is with commercial value which requires payments. Even they are still learning, they learn it from work. That is what the employers need to provide to their employees. It is called a job when you let employers benefit from their working results.
Last session also discussed about grading systems. Anyone who worked should be considered as laborer, even for overseas Chinese students. The internship or what they are going to be implemented, it is all excuses to lowering laboring benefits just like student laborers under cooperative education program. Universities nowadays are all job-oriented. They clearly served for capitalists. The internship after two years of graduation is just an excuse to benefit capitalists. We absolutely object that.
The most disgusting: Only treated foreign white-collar workers as human beings
After I read this law, my greatest thought was that I had heard nothing but bullshits from the government. As for employment golden card, they said if we want specific foreign talents to come, we need to solve difficulties when they are applying for hiring permissions, job switching permissions, and multiple jobs permissions blah, blah, blah. So we imported PEP system for Singapore. You can switch employers, do multiple jobs. It is needed when you wish to maintain regular laborers. For recruiting international laborers, it is good. For us, he have full protection regarding for their flow.
Family reunion right is good. It is also good when government loosen the applicable date of health insurance for them. Previous regulations stated they can have health insurance only after six months. However, it is unreasonable for government to treat these people as human beings while excluding blue-collar workers. When is the time that government treated blue-collar workers as human beings? These conditions was never issued for blue-collar workers before.
For blue-collar workers, these humane services did not exist. In the past, the competent authority is Ministry of Labor. But now it is led by the National Development Council under the name of economic development. It is rather hard to hold down this draft. We do hope -collar workers can share the same condition. But we must erased the internship and tax-free part.
“What makes this draft disgusting is its exclusiveness to other people. Why you only treat white-collar workers as human beings?”
