Taiwan bans RI workers indefinitely

Taiwan bans RI workers indefinitely

Associated Press, Taiwan

Taiwan banned the hiring of Indonesian workers on Thursday,
complaining too many have broken their contracts and run away
from their jobs.

The indefinite ban could be a blow to cash-strapped Indonesia
because Taiwan has become a major income source for tens of
thousands of the Southeast Asian nation's workers. About 97,000
Indonesians work on the island as maids, construction workers,
factory laborers and caretakers for the elderly.

Last May, more than half - or 397 - of the 693 foreign workers
who ran away from their jobs were from Indonesia, the Council of
Labor Affairs said. The council said 134 of the runaways were
from Vietnam, 76 from the Philippines and 86 from Thailand.

Part of the problem is that Indonesian law requires the
workers wire a minimum of NT$3,000 (US$1=NT$33.66) a month back
to Indonesia, said a council official.

The workers are forced to do this by labor brokers, who could
lose their right to recruit workers if the laborers don't remit
the money, the official said.

"The money the laborers make is their own. They have every
right to decide what to do with it," the official said.

Many workers break their contracts with the labor brokers and
seek illegal work so they can avoid the Indonesian regulation.

Taiwan has requested help from Indonesia but so far Jakarta
hasn't responded, said the official, who wouldn't describe what
kind of assistance Taiwan expected.

Representatives at the Indonesian Economic and Trade Office in
Taipei didn't return phone calls from The Associated Press.