Over 10,000 migrant workers from different unions and supporters protested on December 7 in front of the Ministry of Labor in Taipei, Taiwan. The unions called for the repeal of the law that limits the number of years a migrant worker can stay in the country. They also urged that domestic workers be recognized as workers. They condemned the companies’ oppressive policies and urged the ministry to uphold the rights of migrant workers.

Protesters included Migrante Taiwan, Serve the People Association–Taoyuan, Askey Labor Union / ASUS Group Labor Union, Taidoc Technology Labor Union, National Domestic Workers’ Union, Taiwan International Factory Workers Union, and Factory Workers Association–Taiwan.

At the protest, union leaders discussed the situation of migrants in Taiwan in Mandarin Chinese, Indonesian, Vietnamese, English, and Filipino. The protest also marked International Migrants Day.

Taiwan currently has about 850,000 migrant workers. It began accepting migrant workers in 1992.

According to Migrante Taiwan, migrant workers currently work within three-year contracts. Companies determine whether to renew their contracts or not. Overall, migrant workers in sectors such as construction and manufacturing can stay in the country for up to 12 years, while domestic workers can stay for up to 14 years.

Renewing a contract requires a worker to pay NT$18,000 (₱34,200) or more, or return to the Philippines to reprocess their documents. A worker is required to pay NT$50,000 (₱95,000) in the Philippines for placement fee.

Companies use this abusive policy to exploit workers, bust unions, and silence them, as the workers suffered at Askey/ASUS and Taidoc.

Meanwhile, domestic workers are outside the coverage of major labor protections or the Labor Standard Act. This makes them vulnerable to abuse, such as excessive workloads. Despite their difficult work, their salary (NT$20,000 or ₱38,000) is far lower than that of other migrant workers (NT$33,000 or ₱62,700) in the country.

Migrante Taiwan calls on the Ministry of Labor to uphold dignity, job security, and genuine rights for workers, and to revoke policies that treat migrants as ‘disposable’ or easily replaceable.

*NT$1=₱1.9