Fair Recruitment in Review - Philippines to Taiwan: Falling Through the Cracks?

The successful economy of Taiwan, including its vital manufacturing and electronics sector is dependent on foreign labour making it a key migrant worker destination, with more than 700,000 currently employed there. This includes 150,000 migrant workers from the Philippines, part of the 2.2 million Philippines nationals who work abroad.

Both the Philippines and Taiwan have robust legal and regulatory frameworks to manage the recruitment and employment of foreign workers, and when these systems function as they have been designed, the positive outcomes for workers are evident. 

Watch our panel of experts above as they discuss the findings of the report 5 Corridors report by FairSquare and examine recruitment practices at both ends of the corridor, including where good practice exists and poor practice still needs to be challenged.

 

Featured Speakers 

• Bonny Ling, Research Fellow at the Institute for Human Rights and Business (moderator)
• Nicholas McGeehan, Director of FairSquare
• Ellene Sana, Executive Director Center for Migrant Advocacy
• Lennon Ying-Dah Wong, Director of Serve the People
• Tseng Wen-hsueh, Lawmaker from the Miaoli County, Taiwan
• Marie Apostol, Founder of Fair Hiring Project

 

Learn more

Read the Five Corridors Philippines-Taiwan report. The large part of the research is also available in Chinese.

Visit The Responsible Recruitment Gateway to find out more about IHRB's work on the responsible recruitment of migrant workers.

 

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Questions submitted by participants during the live event

• Are there any differences in broker practices/ direct hiring between sectors? Are certain sectors more open to direct hiring?

• Is it effective to put pressures on the TW government? I.e.: does it work to name and shame, given that the MoL seemed to be welcoming your investigation.

• How much is the anti-trafficking act applied to cases, such as the one mentioned by Nick about debt collection?

• I read in an MoL meeting held in March 2017 where government officials were told that those Taiwanese subsidiaries  of global brands were asked by their contractors to use “direct hiring” but they complained that increased their management costs because they cannot outsource all of their responsibilities to brokers. It turned out they continued to use brokers and their direct hiring is only restricted to recruit their foreign employees.

• To Ms. Ellene: About direct hiring, mostly Taiwanese employers are discouraged by the brokers, they would say the process is too complicated.

• What role for tech innovation do you see in solving the cost issues hiring migrant workers?

• To Lennon: Does the Catholic Church play a positive role in your work, helping migrant Workers? Like St. Christopher’s Church - Nick

• Does anyone know if there has been any discussion about setting up direct hiring systems between the Philippines and other Countries (eg: Gulf states specifically?) Thanks!

• Thank you to Counselor Wen-hsueh for his comments - great to hear how informed and passionate he is about this issue. 

• Thank you Marie for highlighting some of the policies that see as leverage for companies to change their policies to employer pays model form recruitment. Are there examples you can cite from other countries in Asia where this has worked

 

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Comments shared by participants during the live event

• I read in an MoL meeting held in March 2017 where government officials were told that those Taiwanese subsidiaries  of global brands were asked by their contractors to use “direct hiring” but they complained that increased their management costs because they cannot outsource all of their responsibilities to brokers. It turned out they continued to use brokers and their direct hiring is only restricted to recruit their foreign employees.

• About direct hiring, mostly Taiwanese employers are discouraged by the brokers, they would say the process is too complicated.

• Thank you to Counselor Wen-hsueh for his comments - great to hear how informed and passionate he is about this issue. 

• Thank you to Miaoli Counselor for your compassion to help migrant workers. 

• On the mobility restrictions imposed on migrants during the pandemic, we have seen from examples in other countries such as Singapore COVID-19 spread more in dormitories when mobility restriction was imposed. We also know that it leads to mental health issues for migrant workers. 

• Some governments are reluctant to allow direct hiring by claiming that if there are no employment agencies, there will be human trafficking by individual brokers. It is just an accuse of course to shift away their responsibilities as governments. 

• It’s in the Hong Kong government's official documents saying that the nature of domestic workers is “round the clock” work. It is discrimination not recognizing domestic workers like other workers. 

• I agree, even in terms of legal liability, governments should ensure employers are held accountable for any potential Labour and human rights violations, and governments themselves should be accountable for ensuring the rule of law in their country. The same standards should be applied to foreign and national workers equally. I think as long as that’s not done there will always be exploitation. 

• There is no shortage of efforts to provide legal protection for domestic workers. There’s been a total of 7 draft bills tabled by legislators (also sponsoring one proposed by an NGO= but the government is yet to submit their draft bill. 

• Thank you for bringing up the question I posted on policies. There is a need to highlight these initiatives more in order to convince more governments and companies to take up fair recruitment. Fair recruitment works and can be beneficial to all. 

• Thank you (Marie Apostol) for saying that remediation for recruitment fees is paying for the cost of exploitation and that it is more effective to implement the employer pays model. 

• The issue of recruitment fees and cost has been happening for a long time and there is a need for all stakeholders to address this. Aside from countries of destination initiatives, countries of origin also need to assert more protection of its workers beginning from the initiatives. Countries of origin also need to assert for more protection of its workers beginning from the prohibiting fees and promoting employer pays model. 

• We also need to raise awareness among migrants that recruitment fees should not be normalized. Prior to the existence of recruitment agencies and brokers, workers paid no fees. 

 

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Questions submitted by participants at registration

1. How can diasporas of these countries help to raise more attention and support this cause?

2. How do we tackle the issue of existing brokers especially in underdeveloped regions that lack of migration infrastructures? How we do tackle the issue of asymmetrical information issue in those regions that suffer from regional disparities?

3. Are there any barriers for migrant workers in Taiwan?

4. Can we do all the documents online? So we don’t need agencies in Taiwan, so no brokers no problems

5. What can be done to protect workers from policies such as the Miaoli lockdown in the future?

6. Does more strain in the PRC - Taiwan relationship help or harm workers from the Philippines?

7. How do we ensure transparent supply chain from initial worker recruitment to worker employment at the factory, to ensure for example debt bondage does not take place?

8. How can protection human right victims and damage health and dignity

9. Principles of due diligence for agency workers

10. How to successfully cooperate with others country in unequal diplomatic formal relationships? Especially in management of agent and directly pay to migrant?

11. Recruitment and Placement cost if borne by which party ?

12. What is Fair Recruitment?

13. What does it take to fair recruitment in the private sector?

14. Even if it is fair recruited, should we let migrant workers to work in a recipient country who has no protection in place?

15. Are risks the same for all economic sectors? if not what are the particular risks with the fishing sector?

16. My concern is about the recent revoke of fee waiver recruitment for Indonesian migrant labors working in Taiwan. How does the situation in Taiwan strike Indonesian government to uninstall the regulation? Compare to the success story of Philippines.

17. How can we give priority to disable peoples in recruitment?

18. How government of country of origin and destination can monitor contract agreement implementation effectively, if not why?

19. What ethical recruitment methodologies are place to ensure that the migrant workers are kept safe from unfair market environment to the semi skilled labour and agents?

20. How has the decrease in volume of deployment from the Philippines affected the pay scale and demand of OFWs in Taiwan?

21. In your opinion, what is the main shortcoming of current recruitment regulations in the Philippines and Taiwan ?

22. JobsDB and JobStreet stand ready to invest and improve fair hiring. Moving job seekers onto such employment platforms (websites/aps) will enable better management of risks to vulnerable workers and tracking their experience. What are the barriers to achieve?

23. How does IRIS help recruitment agencies from Africa?

24. With the legal structures and regulatory framework, why are some of the migrant workers abuse?

25. Please explain the five principles of international fair recruitment?

26. While the economy is still striving in the PH, it is obvious that there are a lot of talents / workers who will opt to work abroad to Taiwan or other countries. What can the government do in order to keep relevant talents locally esp in these trying times

27. What are sanctions to private employment agencies that violate fair recruitment practices

28. What were the most lessons learned from the pandemic Covid-19 to ensure fair recruitment in both countries (Taiwan and Philippines)?

29. What does the grievance mechanism landscape look like in this region and how can effective GM's support protect the rights of migrant workers?

30. I would like for a speaker to address ILO Conventions C 97, C 143, specifically examples how countries that have ratified them and how it has positively affected migrant workers.

31. How are the mechanisms put in place through this corridor to safeguard and protect the rights of the migrant workers

32. Do the benefits outweigh the risks for low-wage migrant workers going to Taiwan?

33. How do you ensure that recruitment agencies do not charge fees to workers?

34. What's the purpose of recruitment fees?