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### Viewing cable 05TAIPEI4206, Taiwan Bans Vietnam Workers Due To High Runaway

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
05TAIPEI4206 | 2005-10-17 08:06 | 2011-08-23 00:00 | UNCLASSIFIED | American Institute Taiwan, Taipei

`

    This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

` `

    UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TAIPEI 004206

    SIPDIS

    PLEASE PASS AIT/W
    STATE FOR EAP/RSP/TC, DRL, G/TIP

    E.O. 12958: N/A
    TAGS: ECON ELAB PHUM SMIG TW VM ID TH PH ILO WCL
    SUBJECT: Taiwan Bans Vietnam Workers Due To High Runaway
    Rate

    ¶1. Summary: Taiwan has banned foreign workers from
    Vietnam since January 2005.  The official reason is the high
    percentage of Vietnamese workers that run away from their
    employers once they enter Taiwan.  NGOs claim that, many
    workers flee as a means to escape abuse because the
    Vietnamese trade office is known not to assist abused
    workers.  Taiwan officials believe a high percentage of
    runaways were trying to avoid paying high brokerage fees,
    which the Vietnamese Government is unwilling to address.
    End Summary.

    Vietnamese Workers at large in Taiwan
    -------------------------------------

    ¶2.  In January 2005, Taiwan imposed a ban on hiring new
    foreign workers from Vietnam because approximately 10% of
    Vietnamese workers in Taiwan either overstay their visas or
    run away from their employers.  According to the Council on
    Labor Affairs (CLA), as of June 2005, of the 102,445
    Vietnamese workers in Taiwan, 10,583 workers are unaccounted
    for. There are currently more Vietnamese runaways in Taiwan
    than the total number of runaways from all other countries
    combined.  The other countries that send workers to Taiwan
    are the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Mongolia.
    (reftel)

    High Broker Fees Contribute to High Runaway Rate
    --------------------------------------------- ---

    ¶3.  Officials at Taiwan's CLA believe that the primary
    reason workers run away is to escape from the debt they owe
    the labor brokers that arranged their job contract.  AIT has
    learned that Vietnamese workers typically have the highest
    broker fees of all foreign workers that come to Taiwan.
    "The lowest fee I ever saw was NT$140,000 (US$4,000).  That
    is only for the Vietnam broker and does not include the
    Taiwan broker fee.  The fees in Vietnam are often twice as
    high as the fees charged to Filipino workers." said Joyce
    Shiau, Director of Taiwan CLA's Foreign Worker's Counseling
    Center, a government office responsible for the welfare of
    foreign workers in Taipei.  Vietnamese families sometimes
    pool their resources to take out a loan to send one family
    member, usually a female, to Taiwan.  Eighty percent of them
    will work as domestic servants taking care of the elderly.
    As a result of the loan, the worker arrives in Taiwan in
    debt.  He or she will work for the first year or two, out of
    a three-year contract, just to pay off the debt.

    ¶4.  The high broker fees create a host of problems for the
    Vietnamese workers.  While workers from other countries can
    expect to save US$4,000 - $6,000 after a three year stint,
    Vietnamese workers find that they will not be able to save
    nearly that much money. In addition, Vietnamese workers are
    sometimes unwilling to seek help because of the risks of
    getting sent back to Vietnam.  A worker deported within the
    first two years of the contract would likely still be
    indebted to the broker.

    Vietnam Government Involved in Setting High Broker Fees
    --------------------------------------------- --------------

    ¶5.  Stephanie Wei, Director of Rerum Novarum, a Catholic
    welfare organization in Taiwan explained to AIT the
    differences between brokers in Vietnam and brokers in other
    countries.  She said that in many countries, the government
    views the broker as a necessary evil because they provide an
    essential service. By comparison, she explained that in
    Vietnam "the Vietnamese government is the broker." Joyce
    Shiau said "The Vietnamese government is quite good at
    exploiting the foreign workers that come to Taiwan."  She
    explained that the government, which receives a portion of
    the brokerage fees when workers leave Vietnam, also collects
    income taxes when they return.  Most Vietnamese workers will
    pay almost NT$60,000 (US$2,000) in back taxes when they
    return to Vietnam.

    ¶6.  A telling example which supports Shiau's assertion,
    occurred in early January 2005 when  Taiwan authorities
    announced they were banning Vietnamese workers from Taiwan.
    In response, the Vietnam Economic and Cultural Office in
    Taiwan announced that, as a measure of goodwill, the office
    would round up 2,000 illegal Vietnamese workers in Taiwan by
    the end of the month.  In the end, the office was only able
    to turn over 800 illegal Vietnamese workers.  AIT ECONOFF
    asked Nguyen Ba Hai, head of Labor Administration, Vietnam
    Economic and Cultural Office in Taiwan, how the Vietnamese
    government was able to organize an island-wide effort to
    track down illegal Vietnamese workers.  Nguyen Ba Hai said
    that the Vietnam government had sent labor brokers to Taiwan
    to assist the authorities in tracking down illegal workers.

    Vietnam Government silent on labor trafficking
    --------------------------------------------- -

    ¶7.  The Vietnam government's involvement in lucrative broker
    fees may have translated into lax efforts to combat labor
    trafficking in Taiwan.  NGOs report that a number of
    dishonest brokers use bait-and-switch tactics to illegally
    hire Vietnamese workers.  NGOs claim that  before they are
    hired, workers are frequently told they will be employed as
    domestic caretakers in Taiwan.  However, once they arrive,
    the workers are sent to factories or farms and are paid a
    fraction of the prevailing wage.  These NGOs claim that
    employers are willing to risk hiring illegal foreign workers
    because, compared to hiring Taiwan workers, they can be paid
    lower wages, will work long hours, cannot change jobs, and
    rarely know their rights.  Joyce Shiau confirmed that "60%
    of all labor trafficking cases involve Vietnamese workers."
    Peter Nguyen Van Hung, head of the Vietnamese Migrant
    Worker's Office, an NGO in Taiwan, described some of the
    tragic consequences of labor trafficking.  He said there
    were many cases of domestic caretakers, poorly trained in
    using factory machines, losing fingers and hands while
    working in factories.

    ¶8.  Nguyen Luong Trao, of the Vietnam Economic and Cultural
    Office in Taiwan told AIT that labor trafficking was a
    common complaint they received from Vietnamese workers.
    When AIT ECONOFF asked them what the office did about these
    complaints, he explained that they encouraged them work with
    their broker.  When asked about the exact number and type of
    complaints they receive, he said "we don't keep statistics."

    Taiwan, NGOs bemoan lack of cooperation from Vietnam
    --------------------------------------------- --------

    ¶9.  The Vietnam government's lack of progress on these
    issues has frustrated Taiwan officials.  Yang Guo-shen,
    Specialist with the Council of Labor Affair's Foreign
    Workers Division, said that Taiwan has been warning Vietnam
    since May 2004 to control the high runaway rate. In response
    to questions about the high broker fees, he said his office
    has seen many cases where high broker fees are disguised as
    loan agreements and the workers claim they have never seen
    the loan agreement. He also added "these loan agreements
    have the official seal of the Vietnamese government so
    somebody is stamping these documents as legitimate."

    ¶10.  NGOs also report similar stories of the Vietnamese
    government's unwillingness to help Vietnamese citizens.
    Stephanie Wei, director of Rerum Novarum told AIT "If a
    Filipino worker has a problem, the first place they go to is
    MECO (Manila Economic and Cultural Office).  But the
    Vietnamese office does nothing to help their foreign
    workers."

    ¶11.   Nguyen Luong Trao told AIT that Vietnam is cracking
    down on the high run away rate by passing a law to punish
    Vietnamese workers that runaway from their employers.  When
    AIT ECONOFF asked whether this would not simply result in
    discouraging runaways from returning to Vietnam.  Nguyen
    Luong Trao replied, "Eventually they have to return and,
    when they do, they will be punished."

    ¶12.  Comment: Although the Taiwan government is responsible
    for the welfare of all foreign workers, Vietnamese workers
    have faced particularly harsh conditions.  Lack of support
    from the Vietnam government and the close cooperation
    between the Vietnam government and labor brokers appear to
    be contributing factors to the higher runaway rate among
    Vietnamese laborers in Taiwan.  End Comment.

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