MOL, New Taipei heads censured for negligence

MISTREATMENT:
The fishers were forced to sign an unfair statement, made to live in terrible conditions and received no wages, but had to pay their boss for meals and lodging

• By Fang Wei-li and Jason Pan / Staff reporters

The Control Yuan yesterday censured the Ministry of Labor and the New Taipei City Government for negligence that resulted in the exploitation of more than 60 foreign fishers and which tarnished the nation’s international image.

Last year, at least 64 fishers were found to have been mistreated and had their wages withheld during the fishing off-season, contravening the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法), Control Yuan members Wang Yu-ling (王幼玲) and Chi Hui-jung (紀惠容) found last year.

The government officials who oversaw the fishers were negligent and took no action despite inspecting their living quarters, they said, issuing an official corrective measure reprimanding the Ministry of Labor and New Taipei City Government for negligence and misconduct.

Photo: Fang Wei-li, Taipei Times

Labor laws require foreign workers to sign a three-year contract, but some employers circumvented this by forcing foreign fishers to sign a statement declaring “their willingness to opt out of the signed work contract” during the fishery’s off-season in winter, Wang said.

The foreign fishers were forced to sign the statement to make it seem as if they had been willing to take unpaid leave, Wang said.

After receiving the complaint last year, Wang and Chi inspected an old boarding house in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) where they found many foreign workers crammed into a 40 ping (132m2) residence, which at one point held as many as 80 people, the Control Yuan members said.

“The foreign fishers were living in terrible conditions as their quarters had no washroom, no hot water and no air-conditioning. During the off-season, they received no wages, but had to pay their boss for meals and accommodation,” Chi said.

The Control Yuan members said the foreign fishers were virtually prisoners, as their passports were held by the labor brokerage agency, turning them into “undocumented migrant workers” that had gone into hiding and taken on illegal jobs.

Ministry officials told Wang and Chi that the 64 foreign fishers were managed by three foreign labor brokerage agencies and hired by 45 different employers, so during the fishery off-season, labor brokers “pooled them together” for easier control, quartering them at two old boarding houses.

“Labor ministry and New Taipei City Government officials were negligent and did not check for potential labor violations nor provide assistance after they became aware of the situation. We found that inspections had been carried out after receiving complaints, but the inspectors notified the brokerage agencies ahead of time so they could prepare for the visit,” Chi said.

“Inspectors are aware of the inequality in power and legal status between foreign fishers, and employers and labor brokers. Yet, inspectors chose to hear only one side and reported that the foreign fishers had agreed to opt out of their contracts, were willing to wait for the start of the fishing season and cited individual circumstances for agreeing to undergo unpaid leave during the off-season,” she added.