We Condemn MECO for Selling Out Two of Our Compatriots!

We condemn MECO for selling out two Filipino caretakers in Hsinchu last April 11. Instead of assisting the two, Lydia Espinosa and a certain Paul only acted as intermediaries for the employer, broker and the Hsinchu Labor Bureau. The only role Jovita Racil and Marilyn Jacob had been to give their assent to an already done deal.

At the same time, the agreement that MECO facilitated for the two caretakers should be considered null and void as they never made clear to the workers that they would act on their behalf. It was Lydia Espinosa who signed the agreement last Monday on the workers’ behalf.

Earlier the two plus three other caretakers of the Fu Lin nursing home in Hsinchu county sought the assistance of the Secretary General of the Hsinchu Confederation of Trade Unions (HCTU). They designated Pong Quoi-chi or Sandy of the HCTU as their representative but the local labor bureau refused this request.

Among their complaints were unpaid and underpayment of overtime pay by their employer and overcharging of NT$50,000 by their broker. They were never given any overtime pay during the twelve hours of work that they did everyday. And were only paid NT$80 per hour in excess of such hours instead of NT$110 per hour as mandated in the Labor Law.

But, instead of encouraging the workers to assert their rights, MECO constantly did the opposite. When the workers pressed that they should be paid the full four hours of their overtime as they hardly had any breaks and only inserted time to eat while on duty, Mrs. Espinosa dismissed this outright. And when they were informed by the two from MECO that they were only given two choices, either to leave or to be transferred, they were told that if they chose the latter they had to take care for their own food and shelter. But why did they not offer the shelter of MECO? What is the use of having it in the first place?

They were even told that probably nobody would like to hire them again as they complain too much. With regards to overcharging, they were told that it was their own fault as they signed a side agreement consenting to this.

But why blame these to the workers? In the first place, in the affidavit of their expected wages and incurred expenses which is authenticated by the POEA and by the Philippine Labor representative in Taiwan and verified by the placement agency, there is no provision stated there that they incurred any loan. At the same time, the newly amended regulations of the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) of Taiwan of November 7, 2002 stipulate that an employer is not allowed to deduct brokerage and other fees from the workers’ salary.

In effect there is no legal basis for the NT$50,000 loan and as such, the broker should even be penalized for such an infraction. Instead Paul and Mrs. Espinosa blamed the workers for the brokers’ wrongdoing and even rewarded the latter by letting him keep 1/4 or NT$12,500 each of what was overcharged the workers.

When we first raised the issue that MECO grossly neglected the workers and that the latter had the perception that they had been sold out by the Philippine representative office, the Labor representative vehemently denied this. But nobody can deny now what they just did in the morning of April 11. MECO also said that they were assisting the Hsinchu Labor Bureau on this case. Ironically we agree to this. They never, however, assisted the two Filipino caretakers during that day.

We therefore call for the dismissal of Mrs. Lydia Espinosa and Paul from MECO for selling out Jovita and Marilyn. They acted as representatives of the employer, broker and even the Hsinchu Labor Bureau. We are also calling for the nullification of the agreement made between MECO and the three entities mentioned earlier as they never told the workers that they were acting as their representatives during that day.

We are also demanding that the broker and employer should both be penalized for violating Taiwan’s own Labor Standards Law and pertinent regulations of the CLA. In particular, the employer should never be allowed to import foreign workers again and the broker should be suspended. A new agreement should be made with the secretary general of the HCTU acting as the representative of the workers. This is allowed under Taiwan’s own laws.

We encourage our compatriots in Taiwan to support our calls and to raise this issue to the doorsteps of MECO itself. Only our concerted and militant actions will make these calls possible.
 
Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants
Migrante Sectoral Party - Taiwan chapter