Higher wages in store for foreign caregivers in Taiwan

Want China Times, CNA 2015-08-30

Foreign caregivers at a park in Taipei, March 30. (Photo/Fang Chun-che)

Foreign caregivers planning to work in Taiwan will receive a monthly wage of NT$17,000 (US$525) beginning on Sept. 1, the country's labor minister Chen Hsiung-wen announced on Friday.

That represents an increase of NT$1,160 (US$35), or 7.32%, from the current monthly wage of NT$15,840 (US$490), which has been the fixed rate for the past 18 years.

In contrast to the minimum monthly wage of NT$20,008 (US$617.34) for workers in Taiwan, which has increased 26% during the period, Chen said the 7.32% raise was reasonable.

Foreign nationals working as domestic caregivers in Taiwan are not covered under Taiwan's Labor Standards Act and therefore not entitled to the statutory minimum wage.

The higher monthly wage will only be applied, however, to new applicants from Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, and not to those already working in Taiwan.

With the monthly pay for migrant domestic helpers in Hong Kong and Macau at NT$16,530 (US$510), Taiwan hopes that the wage increase can attract quality domestic helpers to work in the country, Chen said, after a meeting with officials from the four Southeast Asian countries earlier in the day.

Indonesia and the Philippines, the two countries that provide the most migrant domestic helpers in Taiwan, have pressed Taiwan for months to increase the wages for their workers to NT$17,500 (US$540) per month, and have been holding back new workers from employers unwilling to pay that amount.

It was not immediately clear if the new wage settled the differences between Taiwan and the two countries.

But Agusdin Subiantoro, deputy director of Indonesia's National Agency for the Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers, told CNA on Thursday that Indonesia and Taiwan had reached the agreement to increase migrant caregivers' pay to NT$17,000 (US$525) after rounds of negotiations.

Groups of manpower brokers called for the ministry on Friday afternoon to require incoming migrant workers to have HIV/AIDS testing and pregnancy tests done.

But the Labor Ministry said that considering international human rights conventions and workplace gender equality, those tests should not be requirements for those workers.

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Indonesia to gradually stop sending domestic workers to abroad

Want China Times, CNA 2015-02-28

An Indonesia domestic worker and the elderly man she cares for at a
Chinese New Year event, Feb. 8. (File photo/Yang Han-sheng)

Indonesia plans to begin measures to stop sending domestic workers to Taiwan in 2017, as the Southeast Asian country is moving forward with a plan to stop sending domestic workers abroad in an effort to protect the country's dignity, according to an Indonesian official.

To move forward with President Joko Widodo's policy of preventing any more Indonesians from working abroad as domestic workers, Nusron Wahid–head of the Agency of Placement and Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers–said his country will stop sending domestic workers to the Middle East, starting this year, as the first step.

From 2017, it will gradually stop sending domestic workers to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Macau and other countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific region, he said Wednesday during an interview with Indonesian media Liputan6.com.

Rather than sending domestic workers overseas, he said, Indonesia will begin exporting trained and skilled workers. To that end, he said, his government is preparing to provide training programs to help give them skills.

He said he believes this policy will help Indonesian migrant workers get better salaries.

He was appointed after Widodo was inaugurated as Indonesia's new president in October.

The new government has made improving the rights and benefits of migrant workers and their overall working conditions one of its top administrative priorities.

During an interview with CNA in December, the official said he understands Taiwan's need for domestic helpers from Indonesia and suggested a solution to maintain the flow of workers in informal sectors.

Taiwan should comprehensively raise wages for Indonesian domestic helpers based on its own minimum wage regulations, and work hours should be limited to a level consistent with local law, he said, adding that domestic helpers should not live under the same roof as their employers but should be housed in dormitories.

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Vietnam's anti-China riots prompt Taiwanese to think twice

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-06-28

A Taiwanese-owned factory plant was vandalized during
 rioting in Vietnam in May, though escaped being burned to the
 ground as happened in a number of cases. (File photo/
Chiu Tsung-hao)

Last month's anti-China protests in Vietnam have caused Taiwanese businesses who were considering relocating their factories from mainland China to the Southeast Asian country to take advantage of cheaper labor to think again, our sister paper Want Daily reported on June 26.

Rising production costs have pushed many Taiwanese entrepreneurs to start moving their mainland China operations to Southeastern Asian countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia. But last month's riots, which the Vietnamese government has considered to be legitimate protests which got out of hand has shown them a warning sign.

The unrest began on May 11, when local protesters objecting to a Chinese oil platform operating off the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, controlled by China but also claimed by Vietnam, turned their anger on Chinese companies, factories and plants, including those owned by Taiwanese entrepreneurs, in many cases burning them to the ground.　

Some Taiwanese businesses have already done well from relocating production to Vietnam and the trend had been expected to continue. Pou Chen Group, the world's leading show manufacturer, for example, has been heavily reliant on its plants in Indonesia and Vietnam.

Indonesia to set up special economic zone in Morotai: official

Want China Times, CNA 2014-02-20

A street in Morotai, Indonesia. (Photo/CNA)

The Indonesian government has decided to establish a special economic zone in Morotai, one of Indonesia's northernmost islands and the location of a Taiwan-Indonesia joint development project, Taiwan's representative to Indonesia said Wednesday.

"The decision to set up the zone is conducive to carrying out the joint development project," said Chang Liang-jen, representative of the Taipei Economic and Trade Office in Indonesia.

The special economic zone will come with various beneficial measures to attract investment in Morotai in such areas as fisheries and tourism, Chang told reporters in Taipei.

Taiwan and Indonesia signed a memorandum of understanding in 2012 covering the joint development of Morotai, the largest island of the resource-rich Maluku archipelago in eastern Indonesia.

The island, located 2,600 kilometers from Taiwan, has a population of some 50,000 and an area of about 2,400 square kilometers.

Chang is among a group of Taiwanese overseas envoys who returned to Taiwan to attend a four-day seminar organized by the ministries of foreign and economic affairs, as part of the country's preparations for entering negotiations on the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), two proposed trade blocs in the Asia-Pacific region.

He said the seminar, which began Feb.17, is an opportunity to share experiences with representatives posted in other countries and to brainstorm strategies to seek support aboard for Taiwan's bids.

Indonesia has a positive attitude on Taiwan's efforts to join regional economic integration, Chang said, adding that both sides have been discussing the possibility of signing a bilateral investment agreement to advance trade relations.

Also at the press event was Taiwan's representative to Australia, Katherine Chang.

"We will continue to seek Australia's support for our TPP and RCEP bids," she said.

The TPP negotiating countries are set to finish the first round of negotiations later this year, and Chang said that Taiwan is aiming to enter the second rounds of talks.

Meanwhile, the group of overseas representatives were scheduled to visit central and southern Taiwan later Wednesday and Thursday to learn more about the country's competitive industries and the development of free economic pilot zones. This will give them a better understanding of the country's trade liberalization efforts.

The government has repeatedly reiterated its desire to join the two trade blocs to avoid economic marginalization. It has set a goal to complete the preparations by July.

Taiwan's representatives to Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia, India, Peru, Chile, Canada and Mexico are attending the seminar.

Other participants include Taiwan's newly appointed representative to the United States, Shen Lyushun, and deputy representative to the US, Leo Lee.

The TPP currently is being negotiated by the US and 11 Pacific Rim nations — Japan, Australia, Peru, Malaysia, Vietnam, New Zealand, Chile, Singapore, Canada, Mexico and Brunei.

The RCEP is being negotiated by all 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, along with China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Foxconn Technology to Launch Indonesia Handset Operation in 2014

Jakarta Globe, Francezka Nangoy, October 7, 2013

Workers are seen inside a Foxconn factory in the township of Longhua in the
southern Guangdong province May 26, 2010. (Reuters Photo/Bobby Yip)

Nusa Dua. Taiwan electronics giant Foxconn Technology Group will conclude negotiations and establish a local subsidiary for its first Indonesian plant next year, the company announced on Monday.

The company, makers of Apple’s popular iPhone, first announced plans for an Indonesian factory in 2012. Foxconn then spent 18 months in negotiations with the Indonesian government and potential partners as it prepared to establish a local venture. Those negotiations are almost complete, Foxconn officials  told journalists at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Nusa Dua, Bali.

“In 2014 the company would have been registered and the negotiations will be done,” spokesman Simon Hsing said. “In 2014, you will see Foxconn coming.”

Chairman and CEO Terry Gou declined to name a local partner or specify the value of the project, saying only that the factory will be a “major investment,” in Indonesia and will likely include multiple domestic partners.

Erajaya Swasembada, a local handset distributor and manufacturer, has said it approached by Foxconn for a potential partnership. Djarum Group and property developer Agung Sedayu Group have also said they were in talks with the electronics company.

Foxconn declined to comment on the rumors.

“All I can say is that everyone is possible as long as they are qualified,” Hsing said.

The factory will use Indonesian-produced steel and tin and plans to make more than handsets, company officials said. It plans to establish a domestic supply chain for the products.

“We want to make sure that the infrastructure is here,” Gou said. “We came here not just to manufacture. We are making an entire supply chain in Indonesia.”

Gou and company said they planned to travel to Jakarta after the announcement.

“This is actually the reason I came [to APEC],” he said. “It is my first APEC [summit]. After APEC I will travel to Jakarta to meet our partners and also to talk to the government.”