CLA increases reward for reporting illegal workers

This article was published by the Taiwan Headlines on May 11, 2006. According to this article, the Council of Labor Affairs recently decided to increase the reward for information that leads to the capture of illegal workers by NT$3,000, in order to combat the problem of illegal foreign workers. The reward is now NT$5,000.

Meanwhile, the Council of Labor Affairs also decided that those who employ illegal foreign workers or arrange work for illegal foreign workers will face a much heavier fine than before.

Statistics show that by the end of March 2006, the number of illegal or "missing" foreign workers in Taiwan has surpassed 23,000.

The Council of Labor Affairs encourages illegal foreign workers to give themselves up and face the consequences. The government will do its best to help these illegal foreign workers return to their countries as soon as possible. Indeed, illegal foreign workers often find themselves in precarious situations, not only because they are easily exploited or mistreated by employers, but also because they are not protected by laws or covered by health insurance.

The Labor Rights Association recently launched a protest against the government's treatment of foreign workers who have become illegal because they were mistreated by their previous employers. The government was urged not to repatriate these individuals.

However, in response, the Council of Labor Affairs announced that all illegal foreign workers will be repatriated once they are found. What the government can do is to help those who were mistreated to try and regain the money they might have lost, and to punish those who mistreated them.