FamilyMart, One-Forty launch multilingual signs to help migrant workers

Taipei, July 2 (CNA) The convenience store chain Taiwan FamilyMart Co. and One-Forty, a non-governmental organization (NGO), on Tuesday introduced multilingual signs guiding customers from four Southeast Asian countries to frequently used services as part of their "migrant-friendly services" initiative.

The signs, written in Indonesian, Tagalog, Vietnamese and Thai, have been put up at counters in more than 4,200 FamilyMart stores around Taiwan to direct migrant workers and residents to services they commonly use, such as sending remittances back home and sending and receiving packages.

Those two services, in addition to purchasing food, are the three services most commonly used by migrant workers, according to a survey jointly conducted by FamilyMart and One-Forty among migrants from Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam in January.

The NGO One-Forty is dedicated to educating migrant workers on how to adapt to life in Taiwan and how to start up businesses when they return to their home countries.

According to the survey, which collected 2,600 valid samples, migrant workers on average visit convenience stores once every two days, but nearly 60 percent said they wished there were "tools" to help them solve communication problems.

Some respondents said they wished there was clearer labeling on foods containing pork or lard, so FamilyMart has created an Indonesian-language sign with an illustration so Muslim customers do not accidentally purchase those products, according to the convenience store chain.

The franchise expects to increase the number of stores with a "Southeast Asian imported products area" to 500 across Taiwan and the number of branches with Halal deli sections from about 600 to 1,000 by the end of this year, FamilyMart Corporate Communications Department Manager Vita Wu (吳采樺) said.

Chen Jou-en (陳柔恩), a supervisor at a FamilyMart branch, said clerks will now be able to cater to the needs of migrants much more promptly with the multilingual signs.

For example, it often takes a lot of time just for migrants to tell clerks that they need to send packages or pick up transportation tickets, Chen said.

Thirty-five years after Taiwan began recruiting migrant workers, they now form an important part of the nation's workforce, supporting local industries and providing care to households, Taiwan FamilyMart President Hsueh Tung-tu (薛東都) said at a news conference.

Hsueh said that convenience stores have become a "third living space" after their workplaces and homes, and he hopes FamilyMart will become Taiwan's most migrant-friendly convenience store franchise.

Under the initiative, users of FamilyMart's app can make donations to One-Forty, which will be used to make videos teaching migrant caregivers how to take care of people with dementia.