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ni men hao:

This article from the Taipei Times relates to blue-collar foreign workers, but I thought that I'd post it here since "runaway" ESL/EFL teachers can also pose a threat to societies.


http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2006/03/21/2003298431

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CLA raising fine for illegal hires

CRACKDOWN: The head of the council said runaway workers pose a threat to public safety -- an accusation that was strongly criticized by a labor group's representative

By Shelley Shan
STAFF REPORTER
Tuesday, Mar 21, 2006,Page 2


Council of Labor Affairs Minister Lee Ying-yuan (李應元) said yesterday that the council will impose stricter penalties on employers recruiting illegal foreign workers.

Violators will now face a fine of NT$750,000.

Lee said the nation has now around 320,000 foreign blue-collar workers, and 20,000 of them have fled their employers.

The runaways threaten public security, and the issue has become a priority in Premier Su Tseng-chang's (蘇貞昌) initiative to lower the crime rate, he said.

Lee said employers are currently fined NT$15,000 to NT$75,000 if they hire illegal workers. Starting April 20, however, the maximum fine will be imposed on employers regardless of the circumstances.

He said the council will publicize the new policy for a month before it is formally launched, and he urged major corporations to cooperate by not hiring illegal workers.

Bureau of Vocational and Employment Training Director-General Kuo Fong-yu (郭芳煜) said some foreign laborers reportedly used fake alien residence cards to gain employment. He said runaway workers are an "uncontrollable" population and pose a threat to public security.

"If these workers have problem sustaining themselves, they will take extreme actions, such as robbery or some other crimes," Kuo said.

He said that most of them think that they can avoid illegal issues when they run away.

The crackdown drew strong criticism from non-government organizations yesterday.

Wu Jing-ru (吳靜如), a representative of the Taiwan International Workers' Association, said the council is more focused on executing a stricter policy than trying to get to the root of the problem.

"They never really bother to find out the working conditions of the foreign laborers," Wu said, adding that the council "simply categorizes them either as legal or illegal workers."

Wu said illegal workers are exploited by their employers. A legal foreign worker, for example, is charged NT$1,500 to NT$1,800 a month in brokerage service fees, while illegal workers may be charged up to NT$5,600 a month.

According to Wu, some foreign workers are coerced into signing contracts that say they will voluntarily have savings deposited into their accounts every month, a strategy recruiters use in order to pay lower wages.

Unlike foreign white-collar workers, who can live where they want and are free to change employers, blue-collar workers face many restrictions.

Wu said even if these workers can escape from bad recruiters and poor working conditions at one job, they might become victims again if employed by other recruiters.

Wu also disagreed with the council's statement that runaway foreign workers are a threat to public security, saying such crime statistics have to be compared to crimes committed by Taiwanese blue-collar workers.

Lee made the announcement during yesterday's legislative session, where he faced a barrage of criticism from lawmakers about the recent accidents plaguing the Taiwan Railway Administration and protests by Thai and Filipino workers.

Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lu Tien-lin (盧天麟) said the number of foreign blue-collar workers has increased since Lee took the council job,from 315,537 last September to 327,311 in January. Of those, nearly half are home caregivers.

Lu reminded Lee that the council had proposed a plan to increase employment opportunities for local caregivers, with recruiters reimbursed NT$10,000 for each local hire.

The council has said only 11 employers have applied for the program.

"The council needs to evaluate the effectiveness [of the program]" Lu said.