The Immigration Department has recently caught an illegal case of migrant workers working overtime in Yilan County. Thus, the agency appeals to employers to comply with the employment service act, otherwise a fine of NT$30,000 to 150,000 will be issued .
The Immigration Department has also issued a press release currently, stating that the Yilan County Special Task Force of the Immigration Department’s Northern District Team received a report in June and arrested 4 employers with 2 Filipino, 2 Vietnamese and 1 Indonesian migrant workers at a well-known steamed bun shop and a meat shop in Jiaoxi Township, Yilan County.
The Yilan County Special Task Force said that upon arriving at the scene, they indentified these foreign migrant workers who had difficulties in expressing their nationalities due to language barrier . After acknowledging that these workers came to Taiwan under the purpose of working as elderly caregivers, the officers found that they actually worked from morning till evening to pluck poultry’s feather, clean and assist with the shop’s activities. In case being caught by the police, they were taught to said: "Auntie is hungry, I make buns for her to eat”. This one-size-fits-all answer was easily identified by the Immigration Department, and cases like this were all treated according to the law. After the investigation, these workers could earn from NT$7,000 to 8,000 a month, which is equal to a double payment.
The Immigration Department revealed that Taiwan is entering the era that needs low-income workers, yet young people are not willing to undertake heavy works. Many employers use their caregivers to assist with the works at their own restaurants and shops. In addition to taking care of the elderly, foreign migrants are required to help with cleaning, washing dishes, dumping garbage, serving food, selling goods, etc. All of these aforementioned tasks have violated Article 57, paragraph 1 and 3 of the Employment Services Act - prohibiting employers to employ “a foreign worker without permit or after the expiration of permit therefore, or a foreign worker that has been permitted to be employed at the same time by a third party” and appoint “the employed foreign workers to work that is not within the sphere of the permit". Violaters may be fined from NT$30,000 to NT$150,000, and must show some enhancement within a time limit. If the employers continue to break the law, the Ministry of Labor shall abolish its recruitment permit and employment permit.
