Officials criticize rumors, discriminatory comments about Indian workers

Taipei, Feb. 17 (CNA) Taiwanese officials on Saturday rebutted rumors and discriminatory comments about Indian migrant workers that were made after the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Friday regarding workers from India coming to Taiwan.

Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) called on the public not to stigmatize Indian workers, saying that migrant labor was necessary because local workers tended not to be willing to do "3K" -- difficult, dirty, and dangerous -- jobs, for example, those in long-term care and construction.

He added that if Taiwanese workers did apply for such positions, they would be prioritized.

Chen was responding to Taiwan People's Party (TPP) Legislator Lin Kuo-cheng, (林國成) who said Saturday that Taiwanese workers were worried about their jobs being taken.

Meanwhile, Tsai Meng-liang (蔡孟良), head of the Ministry of Labor's Workforce Development Agency, told a CNA reporter that negative stereotypes of migrant workers should be rejected, adding that there were many talented Indian workers around the world.

He said the Taiwanese public tends to wrongly assume migrant workers are a source of social issues, but that actually the crime rate among migrant workers in Taiwan is less than half of that among Taiwanese people.

Tsai noted that there are currently about 18 million people from India working around the world. While there are about 8.5 million in the Middle East alone, 210,000 are in Italy and 50,000 are in Germany.

Many countries have talked with India about introducing its workers into their countries, including Japan and South Korea, according to Tsai.

Israel is also considering expanding the number it admits amid a war-induced shortage, he said, adding that labor shortages were a global problem and that Taiwan's industries could be at risk if proactive action was not taken.

Cabinet spokesman Lin Tze-luen (林子倫) said in a statement issued to the media that because labor shortages are a problem in many industries, the government is looking to work with countries that have migrant laborers willing to come to Taiwan.

According to MOU with India, Taiwan will have the final say on which sectors the workers will work in and how many people enter the country, Lin said.

He added that the government has noted the discriminatory rumors made about Indian migrant workers online, that either paint them in a bad light or speculate on the number that will come to work in Taiwan.

Lin stressed that the disinformation is unfounded and could damage Taiwan's global reputation.

Taiwan and India on Friday signed the MOU and agreed to hold meetings to iron out details before a formal announcement on the policy is made, the ministry said in a statement issued Friday.

However, some opposition politicians on Saturday accused the government of reneging on its promise before the elections of "not introducing Indian migrant workers."

Last November, when rumors about 100,000 Indian migrant workers arriving in Taiwan were spreading, Labor Minister Hsu Ming-chun (許銘春) said that it was false information. The ministry reiterated in December that any claims about Taiwan seeking to open its doors to 100,000 Indian workers were "fake," and made by "ill-intentioned people" to manipulate public opinion for electoral gains.

Hsu also said at that time that Taipei had not signed a MOU with New Delhi to bring in migrant workers and that the issue was subject to continued evaluation.