MOL stands by ban on migrant-paid recruitment fees despite petition

Taipei, July 28 (CNA) The Ministry of Labor (MOL) on Monday rejected calls to halt a planned ban on charging recruitment-related fees to migrant workers in the manufacturing and fishing sectors, saying the policy is required under the Taiwan-U.S. Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART).

In a written response to a public petition opposing the planned ban, the MOL said Taiwan had committed under the ART -- signed by the two sides in February -- to implementing the principle of "fair recruitment."

The commitment reflects growing efforts by the United States and the European Union to make preventing forced labor a condition for market access and is intended to safeguard Taiwan's industrial competitiveness and supply-chain resilience, the ministry said.

Migrant workers coming to Taiwan often pay recruitment-related costs themselves, including fees charged by agencies in their home countries, airfare and other pre-departure expenses -- a practice the U.S. government and labor rights groups have said can leave workers vulnerable to debt bondage and forced labor.

Under its commitment to "fair recruitment" in the ART, Taiwan must prohibit the charging of recruitment fees and related costs to migrant workers in the manufacturing and fishing sectors within three years of the agreement's entry into force, the ministry said.

In April, the MOL said it planned to pursue legislative amendments requiring employers in those two sectors to cover migrant workers' overseas recruitment fees and related costs for the duration of the employment contract, but did not specify when it would submit the proposed amendments.

"Household employers, however, are not covered by the ART," the MOL said in its response, referring to individuals and families who hire live-in migrant caregivers and domestic helpers.

The petition

The MOL's response came after a petition opposing the planned ban, launched in mid-April by the International Association of Families and Employers with Disabilities (IAFED), received 5,929 endorsements on the Public Policy Participation Platform.

Operated by the National Development Council, the platform requires the relevant government agency to issue a formal response within two months if a petition receives at least 5,000 endorsements within 60 days of its launch.

In the petition, the IAFED described the planned shift to employer-paid recruitment-related fees as "an invisible tax imposed on Taiwan's small and medium-sized enterprises, fishing industry and families caring for people with disabilities in the name of international human rights."

Among its six proposals, the association called on the government to conduct a comprehensive economic impact assessment, hold public hearings and establish a cost-sharing mechanism involving the government, employers and migrant workers' countries of origin.

It estimated that requiring employers to cover all overseas recruitment-related expenses could add between NT$100,000 (US$3,084) and NT$190,000 to the cost of hiring each migrant worker.

The MOL did not address that estimate in its response, but said it had begun consulting employers in the affected industries on the policy.

A growing number of employers in the affected industries had recognized the global trend toward fair recruitment and the potential trade risks associated with links to forced labor, it added.

During the three-year transition period, the MOL said it would continue consulting industry representatives, employer groups, relevant government agencies and the governments of migrant workers' countries of origin to "develop accompanying measures and provide supporting resources."