FOREIGN WORKERS NO LONGER HAVE TO LEAVE EVERY 3 YEARS|立院三讀通過 外勞滿3年不須強制出境

On October 21, the Legislative Yuan made an amendment to Article 52 of the Employment Service Act, freeing migrant workers from having to exit Taiwan every three years. While migrant workers and labor activists erupted in cheers, employers and labor brokers were disappointed by the decision, saying that there will be more burden and costs for them. Labor brokers and migrant worker advocacy groups were locked in dispute over the amendment to Article 52 of the Employment Service Act outside the Legislative Yuan. On October 21, legislators removed a clause requiring migrant workers to exit Taiwan every three years for at least one day to be eligible to renew their work contracts. ==MS. DAI EMPLOYER REPRESENTATIVE== Every three years, we employ migrant workers directly without labor brokers. Therefore, there is no such thing as agency fees. According to law, we only experience a window that lasts for one or two days. If the amendment is passed, we will have one that is prolonged to over 4 months. ==KUAN WEN-CHIEH CHAIR, NEW TAIPEI E.S.I.A.== Placement fees for migrant workers have risen from NT$20,000 or NT$30,000 to over NT$ 300,000 a year. This will greatly impact the country's social welfare. Labor brokers and employers believe that the amendment will make employers become springboards for migrant workers. Employers were against the amendment because they will face problems such as a prolonged period of time without employees working for them, causing them great inconvenience. Migrant worker advocacy groups believe that employers were exploiting migrant workers' rights. They said the amendment will not increase the runaway rate because migrant workers who want to run away from their employers can do that at any time. High agency fees is the cause of many evils that plague all migrant workers. ==VIETNAMESE WORKER== It takes one and a half years to two years of working in Taiwan to pay back all agency fees. ==CHUANG SU-CHING TAIWAN INTL WORKERS' ASSOC== If employers have had a good relationship with their hired migrant workers over the past three years, they can renew their work contracts without having their employees exit the country. For employers and migrant workers, the new bill provides a win-win situation. It is estimated that around 14,000 migrant workers will be affected by the new amendment every year. Moreover, to protect migrant workers' rights, the Ministry of Labor said it will impose a fine of up to NT$300,000 on employers who refuse to allow migrant workers to take annual leave and go back home. TRANSLATED BY：ARIEL HSIEH 今天在立法院會三讀通過就業服務法第52條修正案，外籍移工不用再每三年出境一次，雇主可以直接續聘，不過今天也有仲介業者和移工團體，到立法院抗議和聲援，仲介業者認為，修法通過，會加重雇主負擔，也會讓不適任移工、滯留台灣；但勞團認為，為了避免仲介以高額仲介費，剝削移工，因此贊成修法。 立法院前，兩派人馬互相較勁，大聲公、喇叭都出爐，現場瀰漫一股火藥味。就是因為立法院在今天排定，要審查攸關外籍移工，每三年必須出境一次的就服法52條修正案，再次挑起仲介業者和移工團體戰火。 ==雇主代表 戴小姐== 每3年 我們都是用直聘的方法 根本就沒有需要透過仲介 也沒有所謂的什麼仲介費 事實上 現行的法令 我們只有1到2天的空窗期 如果(就服法)52條修法通過的話 我們至少會4個月以上的空窗期 ==新北市就業服務商業同業公會理事長 官文傑== 安置費用 也會從現在 1年2、3萬 暴增到1年30幾萬 所以說這個對整個國家的社會福利 都會有很重大的影響 仲介業者和雇主聯盟認為，這次修法通過，可能會使得未來移工把雇主當成「跳板」，並導致雇主必須要面臨「空窗期」加長等問題，因此反對修法通過。 高舉象徵被剝皮的布條，移工團體認為，移工如果想逃跑，基本上任何時間都可能發生，不會因為修法而增多。但更重要的，是「高額仲介費」才是移工苦惱的重點。 ==越南籍移工== 我們要工作 一年半到兩年才能還完 來台灣工作的仲介費 ==台灣國際勞工協會研究員 莊舒晴== 他在這3年之中 已經跟他的外勞有良好的勞雇關係 他就可以 直接跟外勞續約 不需要再將外勞 出國一次再回來 對於雇主 還有對於移工來說 其實是一條勞雇雙贏的法案 要求立院各黨，必須堅守移工權益，最後立法院會三讀通過就服法52條修正案，將取消移工在台工作三年、必須出境一次的規定，預計每年有1萬4千名移工受影響。 記者 曹晏郡 吳其昌 台北報導