At a press conference hosted by the Taiwan International Family Association yesterday, Ruan Fan Chiu-hsiang from Vietnam tearfully reveals her hardships as a foreign worker in Taiwan, saying that she has helped her Taiwanese husband to recycle metal since the day she arrived in Taiwan, but often made mistakes and got laughed at by others. (CNA)Monday, April 28, 2008
The China Post news staff (Taiwan)
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Most working women who have immigrated from Southeast Asia are plagued by five major plights, including job discrimination, having to work multiple jobs, no labor insurance, no overtime pay and low wages, according to findings of a survey conducted by the Taiwan International Family Association (TIFA).
The TIFA conducted one-on-one interviews with 75 Southeast Asian women married to Taiwanese residents, between February and April.
Although Southeast Asian spouses of Taiwanese citizens do not require a work permit, TIFA found that local employers often refuse to hire immigrant women as they lack a work permit or national ID card, or that they speak poor Chinese.
"We speak Chinese with an accent, but we deserve an opportunity to demonstrate our working ability," said Yeh Pei-chi, a Thai woman who married a Taiwanese citizen 13 years ago.
"If we are proven incapable, then don't hire us, but don't refuse to hire us simply because we are foreigners," Yeh said.
She recalled that she was once rejected by a factory employer who told her that "we don't hire foreign spouses," a common example of job discrimination experienced by many female immigrant workers in Taiwan.
The TIFA also found that 72 percent of the women interviewed do not have the labor insurance to which they are entitled, while 68 percent work overtime without overtime pay, said Wang Shu-chuan, executive secretary of the association.
The association also observed that half of the immigrant women in the southern port city of Kaohsiung need to have multiple jobs to support their families, many of them working in restaurants or breakfast shops, she noted.
Wang called for greater attention to job discrimination and the predicaments faced by immigrant women in Taiwan, saying hat the Council of Labor Affairs and local governments should raise the awareness of immigrants' working rights and related rules among local employers and immigrants.
Chang Yu-hua, executive director of TIFA, described female immigrants in Taiwan as "new low-level workers," as many of them work as restaurant staff, household maids, or small factory workers.
Immigrant women need to learn local languages and adapt to a new environment but do not have strong emotional support as they do not have many family members and friends in Taiwan, Chang added, urging the public to offer care and help. Taiwan has more than 123,000 foreign spouses from Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Cambodia, as well as over 270,000 from China, Japan and South Korea.
The TIFA conducted one-on-one interviews with 75 Southeast Asian women married to Taiwanese residents, between February and April.
Although Southeast Asian spouses of Taiwanese citizens do not require a work permit, TIFA found that local employers often refuse to hire immigrant women as they lack a work permit or national ID card, or that they speak poor Chinese.
"We speak Chinese with an accent, but we deserve an opportunity to demonstrate our working ability," said Yeh Pei-chi, a Thai woman who married a Taiwanese citizen 13 years ago.
"If we are proven incapable, then don't hire us, but don't refuse to hire us simply because we are foreigners," Yeh said.
She recalled that she was once rejected by a factory employer who told her that "we don't hire foreign spouses," a common example of job discrimination experienced by many female immigrant workers in Taiwan.
The TIFA also found that 72 percent of the women interviewed do not have the labor insurance to which they are entitled, while 68 percent work overtime without overtime pay, said Wang Shu-chuan, executive secretary of the association.
The association also observed that half of the immigrant women in the southern port city of Kaohsiung need to have multiple jobs to support their families, many of them working in restaurants or breakfast shops, she noted.
Wang called for greater attention to job discrimination and the predicaments faced by immigrant women in Taiwan, saying hat the Council of Labor Affairs and local governments should raise the awareness of immigrants' working rights and related rules among local employers and immigrants.
Chang Yu-hua, executive director of TIFA, described female immigrants in Taiwan as "new low-level workers," as many of them work as restaurant staff, household maids, or small factory workers.
Immigrant women need to learn local languages and adapt to a new environment but do not have strong emotional support as they do not have many family members and friends in Taiwan, Chang added, urging the public to offer care and help. Taiwan has more than 123,000 foreign spouses from Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Cambodia, as well as over 270,000 from China, Japan and South Korea.
1 comment:
hope cambodain women rethink about marry with same asia country!
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