Translation of two June 22 UDN reports (link) (link).



The Legislature’s environmental and health committee this morning approved amending Article 52 of the Employment Service Act in order to abolish the requirement that after 3 years of work, foreign laborers must return to their country for at least a day before returning to Taiwan to continue working. The amendment aims to avoid worsening the unnecessary economic expenses laborers face by going through intermediaries.

DPP Legislators Wu Yu-chin (吳玉琴) and Lin Shu-fen (林淑芬), who proposed the bills, said they have taken a great deal of pressure in recent days. Lin even made a statement in the committee saying she would not commit suicide. (S.tw: In other words, she told everyone that if she is found dead in an apparent suicide, she was in fact killed and framed, because she has no intention of committing suicide.)

Huang Chiu-chia (黃秋桂), head of the Workforce Development Agency, said the amendment is a major step forward for foreign laborers’ rights, and after it passes the third reading the president will immediately declare it effective. This will allow employers to directly extend workers’ contracts and reduce window and training expenses. The laborers can save themselves the compliance cost of going home and then returning to Taiwan through intermediaries.

The influence of Article 52 is far-reaching and impacts the rights and interests of both the disabled and foreign workers. According to Ministry of Labor statistics, the article has compelled 14,000 foreign caretakers per year to return to their home countries. During that time, a 3- to 6-month employment window opens up in the search for a new caretaker, and families must spend a great deal of money to find someone.

Lin Shu-fen stated that Taiwan has been called out by the United States for human trafficking and exploitation by international intermediaries. Abolishing the 3-year requirement can end the problem of foreign laborers running away, reduce the contracting windows for employers, and end exploitation by intermediaries.

Although the amendment process went smoothly, with support from both the blue and green camps, the legislators responsible have suffered strong pressure and attacks, including midnight phone calls and online harassment, Lin said. This could be because intermediaries felt they’d been wronged, she remarked.

Thus, Lin made the Legislature’s first-ever statement a legislator is not committing suicide. She vowed she would not kill herself and would not have an accident, and she is optimistic and healthy.