Appendix 1: TAIWAN PLACEMENT & BROKER FEES

PLACEMENT/BROKER FEES COMBINED (NT Dollars)

Factory and Construction Workers

Domestic Workers and Caregivers

TAIWAN GOVERNMENT POLICY – 9 th NOVEMBER 2001

As of 9th November 2001 the Taiwan government suggests that the labor sending governments limit their placement fees to a maximum of one month's salary –NT$15,840. For a total of 3 years the Taiwan broker service fee totals NT$60,000, and the food and board ranges from NT$90,000 to NT$144,000. These three figures total NT$165,840 to NT$219,840.

GOVERNMENT PLACEMENT FEE POLICIES (NT Dollars)

(Vietnamese government has no policy)

ACTUAL PLACEMENT FEES PAID BY FACTORY/CONSTRUCTION WORKERS

(The workers also pay NT$60,000 service fee & NT$90,000 – NT$144,000 food/board)

* These figures include the 12% tax and US$500 (average) security bond the Vietnamese workers pay to their government.

** These figures include the 8% tax and US$500 (average) security bond the Vietnamese workers pay to their government.

*** These figures include the 8% tax the Vietnamese workers pay to their government.

ACTUAL PLACEMENT FEES PAID BY DOMESTIC WORKERS/CAREGIVERS

(In addition the workers pay NT$60,000 service fee)

* These figures include the 12% tax and US$500 (average) security bond the Vietnamese workers pay to their government.

** These figures include the 8% tax and US$500 (average) security bond the Vietnamese workers pay to their government.

*** These figures include the 8% tax the Vietnamese workers pay to their government.

PLACEMENT/SERVICE FEES & FOOD/BOARD (NT$144,000) (3 year contract)

Factory and Construction Workers

Before the food and board, and service fee policies were introduced factory and construction workers were paying a minimum of NT$150,000 and a maximum of NT$250,000 for their combined placement and broker fees. Now they are paying a minimum of NT$264,000 and a maximum of NT$433,000 for their expenses. With these new policies the workers' situation has only become worse. (Source: Hope Workers' Center case documentation)

PLACEMENT/SERVICE FEES

Domestic Workers and Caregivers

Before the service fee policy was introduced domestic workers and caregivers were paying a minimum of NT$80,000 and a maximum of NT$200,000 for their combined placement and broker fees. Now they are paying a minimum of NT$104,000 and a maximum of NT$293,000 for their expenses. With this new policy the workers' situation has only become worse. (Source: Hope Workers' Center case documentation)

TAIWAN MIGRANTS' LABOR SYSTEM

By Fr. Peter O'Neill – Hsinchu Diocese Migrants Coordinator

“The Catholic Church in Asia Cares for Migrants in Taiwan”

Taipei, Taiwan: March 15 to 20, 2007

Historical process of the Taiwan Employment Permit System

In October 1989 the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) decided to open up Taiwan's job market to migrant workers. This was in response to pressure from employers who claimed there was a labor shortage. The government did not want to appear to be damaging the job opportunities for local workers. Migrant workers were therefore only allowed in to fill so called vacancies for which local workers could not be found. The CLA first legalized migrant workers for the government's 14 major construction projects.

At this time there were between 100,000 to 200,000 migrant workers in irregular status mainly from the Philippines and Thailand, with other large numbers coming from Malaysia and Indonesia. The sending governments of these migrant workers called on the Taiwan government to assist these workers to work legally in Taiwan. The Taiwan government refused and offered an amnesty for the workers. In February 1991 the government launched a massive crackdown against these workers.

The governments of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand each entered into official bilateral agreements with the Taiwan government. By the end of 1992 migrant workers were working in the industrial and manufacturing sectors, as well as working as domestic workers, caregivers and fishermen.

Migrant workers entered Taiwan under a one year employment contract which was extendable for a further year. In 1998 migrant workers were allowed to stay in Taiwan for an extra one year making it a maximum stay of three years. A migrant worker could come to Taiwan only once. In November 1999 the Vietnamese government entered into official bilateral agreements with the Taiwan government. Since January 2002 migrant workers are allowed to stay in Taiwan for a maximum of six years. They can re-enter the country for employment as often as they like during this period. However, after a maximum stay of three years they must leave the country for a minimum of one day so they are not eligible to apply for permanent residency. In January 2004 the Mongolian government entered into official bilateral agreements with the Taiwan government.

Government policy with regards to migrant workers:

Labor Standards Law:

Migrant workers in the industrial and manufacturing sectors, in the construction sector, those working as fishermen, and caregivers employed by institutions for the aged are covered by the Taiwan Labor Standards Law (LSL). The LSL was promulgated in 1984. These workers are covered by the Taiwan minimum wage policy which stands at 15,840 New Taiwan Dollars (US$480) per month. The minimum wage has not increased since October 1997. (Exchange rate: US$1.00 = NT$33)

In April 1998, after many years of lobbying the government, foreign domestic workers and caregivers were brought under the protection of the LSL only to be stripped of this basic human right nine months later. Despite constant lobbying foreign domestic workers and caregivers are still not protected by any law in Taiwan. Their contracts state they are to receive the minimum wage. All of them work very long hours without any overtime pay. If they work on their day off they are to be given one extra day's salary as overtime equivalent to NT$528.

In July 1992 the CLA introduced the “Regulation on Employment and Management of Foreign Workers” (REMFN). In October 1992 the CLA promulgated the “Employment Service Act” (ESA). Chapter 5 of this Act entitled “The Recruitment and Supervision of Foreign Persons” is pertinent to migrant workers. With the enactment of the ESA the government established its foreign labor policy.

Contracts:

Migrant workers sign a two year contract in their country of origin before departing for Taiwan. Some workers come as replacements for migrant workers whose contracts have been terminated. Therefore, the length of their contract is the remaining time left in the contract of the previously employed migrant worker. Many of these workers still pay an exorbitant placement fee.

Since domestic workers and caregivers are not protected by the LSL they are vulnerable to many forms of abuse. There is nothing stated in their contracts as to how many hours each day they are required to work. The Indonesian worker's contract doesn't even state that the worker is entitled to one rest day in every period of seven days as is clearly stated in the Filipino, Thai and Vietnamese contracts. Article 4.3 of the Indonesian caretaker's contract states: “Holidays for employee is subjected to mutual agreement.” Their contracts do not clearly state their job description. Only the Filipino worker's contract states that “she will be covered by the labor insurance”. The Vietnamese worker's contract has no accident insurance. The Indonesian worker's contract does not state how much the accident insurance is.

The workers shall not live outside the employer's house without permission from the employer thus making them vulnerable to being enslaved. Factory and construction based migrant workers live in dormitories with an average 8-10 people per room. Domestic workers and caregivers may find themselves sleeping in the same room with the children or the ward they are caring for. Most employers have very strict curfews. Some workers cannot leave their place of work except for their day off. Domestic workers and caregivers often suffer from arbitrary deprivation of liberty. They are forced to work on average 16-18 hours a day and are extremely vulnerable to all kinds of abuse including rape, sexual harassment, physical and/or mental abuse.

As of September 1, 2004 the CLA imposed a new regulation requiring migrant workers who are new hires, employers and brokers to sign affidavits specifying the amount of loans that migrants “borrowed” from their placement agencies prior to deployment. This “Salaries, Fees and Declaration Form” is also to state the migrant worker's monthly salary; monthly broker's service fee; health and labor insurance; income tax; resident permit fee; medical check-up fees; and return airfare.

Broker System:

When the Taiwan government legalized migrant workers they were brought into the country through direct hiring between the employer and the worker. Soon after Thai brokers realized there was huge profit to be made in facilitating the movement of Thai workers to work in Taiwan. This was when the corrupt brokers system began. For convenience employers began to use brokers to bring migrant workers to Taiwan. The broker's market became very competitive and employers realized they could make fast money out of this system. Employers began selling their migrant quota to the highest bidder. It is the migrant worker who ends up paying this “black” money through exorbitant placement and broker fees. (The placement fee is paid to the placement agency in the sending country and the broker fee is paid to the broker in Taiwan.)

According to the migrant workers' cases handled by the Catholic Hope Workers' Center (HWC), in 1996 the average placement and broker fee combined was NT$60,000. In 1998 when the government changed its policy allowing migrant workers to stay in Taiwan for an extra year the placement/broker fee sky rocketed over night from NT$80,000 to NT$120,000. It was only in 1998 that the CLA legally set the placement/broker fee at an initial standard of NT$56,000 plus NT$1,000 service fee per month. For a three year contract this totaled NT$92,000. However, by 2001 migrant workers were paying between NT$150,000 to NT$250,000. (Please see Appendix I)

Taiwan Government's Broker's Service Fee Policy:

On 9 th November 2001 the CLA introduced a new regulation on broker's service fees. It suggests that the labor sending governments limit their placement fee to a maximum of one month's salary – NT$15,840. Taiwan brokers may collect the following service and transportation fees from migrant workers: 1 st year – NT$1,800 per month; 2 nd year – NT$1,700 per month; 3 rd year – NT$1,500 per month. This totals NT$60,000 for a three year contract. Beginning 9 th November 2001 Taiwan bound migrant workers also have to pay for their own plane ticket. Previously their plane ticket was paid by their employer.

Since 23 rd January 2002 migrant workers can be deployed to Taiwan for a maximum of 6 years. However, they have to leave Taiwan after a maximum of 3 years. Back home they can reapply either for the same or for a different employer, as long as they have not completed 6 years in Taiwan (no matter how many times they have come to Taiwan). Each time they return to Taiwan they have to pay a new placement fee. If they return to a new employer they begin paying once again NT$1,800 per month for the broker's service fee. If they return to the same employer they continue paying NT$1,500 per month for the broker's service fee.

No labor sending government follows the CLA's suggestion of a one month's salary placement fee. In actual fact migrant workers are paying much more. Only the Philippine and Thailand governments have policies with regards to placement fees. The Philippine government's placement fee policy for Taiwan bound migrant workers is one month's salary plus processing fees totaling NT$28,000. According to the cases handled by the HWC in 2006, Filipino factory and construction workers are paying between NT$60,000 to NT$84,000, and domestic workers and caregivers are paying between NT$44,000 to NT$64,000. In the most recent regulation coming from the Philippine government, domestic workers and caregivers do not have to pay any placement fee. However, in practice new arrivals are being deducted NT$8,000 per month for 10 months.

The Thai government's placement fee policy for Taiwan bound migrant workers is 56,000 Baht (NT$56,000). Thai factory and construction workers are paying between NT$120,000 to NT$200,000, and domestic workers and caregivers are paying between NT$80,000 to NT$120,000.

The Indonesian government has no policy per say. It has come to an agreement with the CLA that factory and construction workers have to pay a placement fee of NT$50,179. In actual fact they are paying between NT$150,000 to NT$170,000. Domestic workers and caregivers have to pay between NT$101,000 to NT$104,000. This includes a security bond of NT$2,000 per month over 15 months. If they pay NT$20,000 in cash before coming to Taiwan the remaining NT$54,090 is deducted monthly at NT$3,606 for 15 months. If they don't pay any money in cash before coming to Taiwan, the remaining NT$70,545 is deducted monthly at NT$4,703 for 15 months. The workers have to take out a loan from the China Trust Indonesia Bank at a monthly interest rate of 19% and a monthly bank management fee of NT$265 over a 15 month period. The bank administration fee is NT$4,000.

The Vietnamese government has no policy. Factory and construction workers have to pay in cash between NT$115,500 to NT$214,500. This includes the first two years of the 8% tax the workers pay to their government. The third year's tax is an extra NT$15,200. Domestic workers and caregivers are paying between NT$172,000 to NT$187,000. This does not include the 8% tax the workers pay to their government totaling NT$45,600 over three years. (Please see Appendix I)

Direct Hiring:

In 1999 the Philippine and Taiwan governments signed a direct employment agreement for manufacturing based migrant workers. In March 2003 the two governments signed a direct employment agreement for domestic workers and caregivers. However, very few workers have been able to avail of these agreements. Company employers do not want to use this direct employment agreement because the brokers system is very profitable for them. The employers can sell their migrant quota to the highest bidder among the brokers. It is the workers who pay this corrupt money through their placement fee.

The employers of domestic workers and caregivers do not want to go through the endless procedures that the CLA requires to directly employ a migrant worker. Instead they use the brokers system because it is more convenient. The CLA is doing very little to implement this direct employment agreement.

In December 2002 the Thailand and Taiwan governments signed a direct employment agreement. Very few Thai workers have been able to avail of this agreement. Once again companies want to use the broker system because they can receive money from the brokers.

Taiwan Government's Food and Board Policy:

In September 2001 the CLA introduced a new policy whereby employers can deduct a maximum of 25% (NT$4,000) from the salaries of migrant workers to pay for their food and board. To appease the Taiwan capitalists the CLA resurrected a dormant clause in Article 22 of the LSL that states an employer can either pay a worker's salary in either “cash or kind”. Since domestic workers and caregivers are not covered by the LSL this new policy does not include them.

With this food and board policy, and even if the new regulation on broker's service fees was followed strictly, over a period of three years NT$219,840 (placement fee – NT$15,840; broker's service fee – NT$60,000; food/board – NT$144,000) would be taken out of the migrant worker's salary to pay these expenses. However, migrant workers are paying a minimum of NT$60,000 and a maximum of NT$214,000 for their placement fees which means over a period of three years NT$280,000 (US$8,485) to NT$434,000 (US$13,150) is taken from their salaries to pay these expenses. (i.e.: 18 to 27 months salary) (Please see Appendix I)

Prior to the new broker's service fee regulation, and the food/board policy the migrant workers were paying between NT$150,000 (US$4,545) to NT$250,000 (US$7,575) for their placement/broker fee with no other expenses. This is 10 to 16 months salary. The CLA states it has improved the situation of migrant workers in Taiwan by lowering the broker's fee. In fact by introducing the food and board policy the financial situation of migrant workers has only become worse.

Forced Savings Practice:

The Taiwan government allows an employer, in agreement with the migrant worker, to deduct up to 30% (NT$5,000) of the migrant worker's monthly salary to be placed in a bank account under the worker's name. The employer holds the worker's bank book and chop. The worker has no access to this account. This money is returned to the worker at the completion of his/her three year contract. If the company goes bankrupt the worker never sees this money. The employer has already embezzled the money.

This practice is called “forced savings” because if the workers refuse to sign such an agreement they will be sent home. For the first 40 days probation period migrant workers are not protected at all by their contracts. If they refuse to sign this agreement the employer will say that the worker is not suitable for the job and according to the contract the employer can terminate the worker. No worker would take this risk.

For more than 10 years labor activists have been lobbying the Taiwan government to introduce a policy banning this practice of forced savings. Until now the government has refused to do this. The government's position is if the workers write a letter to their employer stating that they no longer give permission for their employer to deduct the savings then the employer has no right to continue this practice.

Despite the fact that migrant workers have been educated about the government's position, and have been told numerous stories of workers losing their forced savings due to their company's bankruptcy, a miniscule number of migrant workers have written such a letter to their employer.

The reasons for this can be two fold. Firstly, many workers are afraid of having any form of conflict with their employer and such a letter will certainly cause conflict. Secondly, many workers see the forced savings practice as a good practice despite its risks because at the end of three years they have NT$108,000 to take home with them. (The average amount of forced savings per month is NT$3,000) Many of the migrant workers use this money to pay the placement fee to return to Taiwan for another three year contract.

Income Tax:

If a foreigner stays in Taiwan for less than 183 days within the same calendar year they are a Non-Resident taxpayer and have to pay 20% tax of their gross income. If they stay longer than 183 days within the same calendar year they are considered a Resident taxpayer and their tax is 6-10% of their total annual gross income minus tax exemptions of NT$193,000 per year. Non-Resident taxpayers do not receive a tax refund. According to the Taiwan taxation law if your monthly tax is less than NT$2,000 then your employer does not need to deduct tax in advance from your salary. A migrant worker's tax is less than NT$2,000 per month but almost all of them have tax taken from their salary. Many of them do not get back their tax refund. It is withheld by their broker or employer.

Like the forced savings practice, migrant workers can write a letter to their employer informing them of the tax law asking them not to withdraw tax from their monthly salary. Once again a miniscule number of migrant workers have written such a letter to their employer. The reasons are the same as the forced savings practice. Many of the workers see the tax deduction as a good practice because at the end of each year they will hopefully receive their tax refund.

Migrant Workers' Salary

Migrant workers in the industrial and manufacturing sectors, in the construction sector, fishermen, and caregivers employed by institutions for the aged are covered by the LSL. Thus they are covered by the Taiwan minimum wage policy which stands at NT$15,840 per month.

According to the LSL these workers are to receive overtime pay of 1.33 times the hourly rate for the first two hours and 1.66 times the hourly rate for the exceeding hours. Fishermen, and caregivers employed by institutions for the aged, do not receive these overtime rates because there is no system of recording how many hours they actually work each day. If they work on their day off or public holidays they are to be paid one extra day's salary as overtime equivalent to NT$528. Most fishermen do not receive this overtime pay because there is no record of how many days they actually work each month.

If we look at the breakdown of the monthly salary of those migrant workers covered by the LSL it is obvious that they are relying heavily on overtime to pay off their debts and to earn a meager salary to support their families. These figures support the horrific reality that migrant workers have to push their bodies to untold limits in order to survive financially placing their health at huge risks.

Year 1 :

Gross Minimum Wage: NT$15,840

Food & Board: NT$4,000

Broker's Service Fee: NT$1,800

Tax: (1/2 year 20%; ? year 10%) NT$2,376

Health Insurance: NT$225

Labor Insurance: NT$215

Total: NT$8,616

Net Monthly Income: NT$7,224

Net Annual Income: NT$86,688

Year 2:

Gross Minimum Wage: NT$15,840

Food & Board: NT$4,000

Broker's Service Fee: NT$1,700

Tax: (10%/month) NT$1,584

Health Insurance: NT$225

Labor Insurance: NT$215

Total: NT$7,724

Net Monthly Income: NT$8,116

Net Annual Income: NT$97,392

Year 3:

Gross Minimum Wage: NT$15,840

Broker's Service Fee: NT$1,500

(Other deductions same as Yr 2)

Total: NT$7,524

Net Monthly Income: NT$8,316

Net Annual Income: NT$99,792

Over a period of 3 years a migrant worker's net income is NT$283,872 (i.e.: NT$7,885/month). If you minus the minimum forced savings of NT$3,000/month you would be down to NT$4,885/month. Granted they will get back all their tax as refund this will total NT$66,528. Thai and Vietnamese factory workers are paying as high as NT$200,000 and NT$214,000 respectively for their placement fees. After 3 years they would end up with a net profit of only NT$150,400 (NT$4,180/month) and NT$136,400 (NT$3,790/month) respectively.

If we take away this forced savings of NT$3,000/month, a worker is given in cash NT$175,872 (i.e.: NT$4,885/month) over a 3 year period. Therefore, with no overtime it will take them 41 to 44 months to pay back their debt. What about money for their own personal use? They would have none!!

Migrant Workers in Irregular Status

Due to the corrupt broker system, if workers do not have overtime or are abused by their employer they will choose to enter the irregular state to find a safer job which pays more money. In July 2005, the HWC began a one year research on migrant workers in irregular status. One hundred migrant workers each from the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, and 118 migrant workers from Indonesia took part in the survey. 35.65% of the workers said the main reason why they entered the irregular state was because their take home salary was so low after all the deductions for brokers fees, food and board, tax, health and labor insurance were taken from their salaries. 25.84% of the workers usually received in cash each month less than NT$5,000. 32.78% received less than NT$10,000. 17.22% of the workers entered the irregular state because of the difficult work.

Workers in irregular status are very vulnerable to abuse in the work place and are not covered by health or labor insurance. When migrant workers in irregular state either surrender to the police or are arrested by them, they need to pay a maximum penalty of NT$10,000 if they have been in irregular state for more than three months. Before leaving the country they need to pay their tax and their plane ticket. If arrested by the police they may have to stay at a detention center while waiting to be a witness in court to identify their illegal employer(s).

As of the end of December 2006 there were 338,755 (female: 208,682; male: 130,073) migrant workers in Taiwan, and 21,051 (female: 16,413; male: 4,638) were in irregular state (6.2%). Vietnamese – 10,711 (ratio: 15.2%); Indonesian – 5,512 (ratio: 6.5%); Filipino – 2,982 (ratio: 3.3%); Thai – 1,839 (ratio: 2.9%). In 2003 the number of migrant workers in irregular state was 8,940. In 2004 there were 16,593 and in 2005 there were 21,679.

Migrant Workers are not allowed to freely change employers

Migrant workers do not have the freedom to transfer to new employers. The ESA stipulates that migrant workers upon approval of the Central Competent Authority can only be transferred to a new employer under any one of the following conditions: 1. the employer or the one who was intended to be taken care of by the worker has deceased or emigrated; 2. the vessel the worker works on has been seized, has sunk, or has been under repair so as to compel the discontinuation of work; 3. the discontinuation of work caused by the fact that the employer has shut down the factory, suspended the business, or failed to pay the salary pursuant to the employment contract; 4. the worker suffers from physical, sexual or serious verbal abuse by the employer and there is necessary evidence to prove it; 5. the worker has been forced to work for an illegal employer and reports to the government; and 6. the worker has been forced to do illegal work and the employer was warned once before by the government.

Prior to the revision of the ESA in January 2002, migrant workers could be transferred immediately if they were forced to do illegal work. However, with the new revision it is only when the employer commits a violation for the second time shall the migrant worker be given the chance to transfer to a new employer. This revision is blatantly biased in favor of the employer. A migrant worker who is working illegally is under enormous stress to decide whether to inform the authorities of this matter. If they do the employer will suspect it was they who made the report resulting in the working relationship being destroyed. If they don't and they are arrested by the police they risk being sent home for violating the law. Migrant workers do not have the privilege of a second chance.

Domestic workers and caregivers wait on average 6 to 8 weeks and factory based migrant workers wait on average 3 to 4 weeks before having a chance to transfer. Initially they were given 4 chances to transfer within one month. This then changed to only two chances to transfer within two weeks. Since July 2006 they now have 6 chances to transfer. While waiting to be transferred they are not allowed to work. If no employer wants to hire them they have to go home. They are victimized again, this time by an unjust and inept government policy.

In January 2005 the CLA introduced a new regulation whereby female migrant workers cannot be transferred to do men's work. The CLA introduced a new regulation whereby all transfer documents at Employment Service Centers must be translated into the migrant worker's mother tongue outlining the job description of the new work. This is to prevent the workers being cheated by the broker and/or the employer.

On 1 st January 2006 the CLA introduced a new regulation whereby migrant domestic workers and caregivers who are victims of sexual or physical abuse can be transferred to work in a factory, and there are no limits on their number of chances to transfer.

On 18 th July 2006 the CLA introduced a new regulation whereby migrant workers who directly report the illegal actions of their employer to the government, and there is reported evidence of these illegal actions, then if after three chances of transferring they cannot find a new employer they can be transferred to a factory. On 20 th October 2006 the CLA introduced another new regulation stating that the time a worker spends in a shelter waiting to be transferred will be added onto their contract time.

Compulsory Medical Check-ups:

Prior to entering Taiwan and within three days of arrival, migrant workers are required to have a medical check-up. Since 2004 these check-ups are every 6, 18 and 30 months. Previously they were every 6 months. They are tested for Hepatitis B and malaria before and after arrival only. Tuberculoses, HIV/Aids, intestinal parasites, proges-salmon, any sexually transmitted diseases and drugs are tested in all check-ups. Previously if migrant workers were tested positive for any of these diseases they were repatriated immediately. They now have the right to request a re-check in a specialized hospital. If they are tested positive for intestinal parasites they have 30 days to recover otherwise they will be repatriated.

On 7 th November 2001, after many years of lobbying the government, some minor changes were made to the “Regulations on Employment and Management of Foreign Workers”. According to Article 15 of this regulation, workers of foreign nationality, prior to and after their arrival in Taiwan, are required to undergo medical check-ups for the purpose of maintaining national quarantine safety. Pregnancy is classified under “national quarantine safety”. Previously all migrant workers' bi-annual mandatory health check-ups included a pregnancy test. If the test was positive they were repatriated immediately. Under the new regulations they are tested before and after arrival only. Since November 2002 female migrant workers who become pregnant no longer have to leave Taiwan.

Health and Labor Insurance/Health and Safety Law/Labor Compensation:

Migrant workers covered by the LSL are automatically entitled to both health and labor insurance. They pay 30% of both premiums - 1.33% of their monthly salary for their health insurance, and 1.36% for their labor insurance. The employer and government pay the remainder. Domestic workers and caregivers are to be covered by health insurance. If they request to have labor insurance their employer is to pay into the insurance.

Many migrant workers do the difficult, dangerous and dirty (3Ds) work making them more susceptible to occupational accidents. Labor insurance covers a worker if s/he has an occupational accident. Since compensation is calculated according to a worker's monthly salary the migrant worker's compensation is minimal. If a worker dies as a result of an occupational accident the family receives the maximum compensation of 45 months salary (US$21,600). The main benefit of labor insurance is retirement pay. Migrant workers are not entitled to retirement pay.

According to the Health and Safety Law of Taiwan it is only if three or more workers are injured as a result of an occupational accident that the employer must report the accident to the local government authorities. Migrant workers are under pressure of being repatriated by their employer if they report their occupational accident to the government. To add salt to injury if their contract expires they cannot continue to receive their monthly salary while recovering from their injury. The worker is worried, anxious and stressed thinking of the welfare of their family.

Unions:

Migrant workers are able to join existing local unions but they are forbidden to form their own unions. Local workers are very reluctant to invite migrant workers to join their unions. With the unemployment rate at around 5% many local workers feel that migrant workers are stealing their jobs.