Foreign workers demonstrate for rights in Taiwan<\/p>\n
Agence France-Presse, Taipei<\/p>\n
Some 600 blue-collar foreign workers took to the streets
\nSunday in a landmark first protest for labor rights in Taiwan.<\/p>\n
Organizers said the protesters, mostly from the Philippines,
\nIndonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, represented a minority group of
\nsome 300,000 foreign laborers whom they said were paid little
\nattention by local society despite their long-time contribution
\nto the country's development.<\/p>\n
\"This is the first step as for the first time foreign workers
\nare standing up bravely for their rights,\" said Susan Chen,
\nchairwoman of the Taiwan International Workers' Association.<\/p>\n
\"We hope people also recognize the contributions of foreign
\nworkers and give them due respect and treatment when they are
\nseeing their burden lessened in taking care of family elders and
\nkids,\" Chen added.<\/p>\n
The workers asked the government to review the current
\npolicies, by lifting a restriction barring foreign workers
\ntransferring from one employer to another and implementing a
\ndirect country-to-country employment system to stop exploitation
\nby manpower brokers.<\/p>\n
They also pushed the government to draft a domestic service
\nlegislation to protect foreign maids' right to holidays and
\nguarantee equal pay for foreign workers, who tend to be treated
\nas a source of cheap labor.<\/p>\n
In total, some three million foreign workers have been hired
\nto work in Taiwan since the government opened up the imports of
\nblue-collar foreign laborers in 1992, figures from the
\nassociation showed.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/foreign-workers-demonstrate-for-rights-in-taiwan-1447899208",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}