Author: Michael Beltran
Published on: 08/07/2025 | 00:00:00
AI Summary:
Bernard, 45, is a Filipino migrant worker in Taichung City, Taiwan. He often checks his face mask to make sure his appearance is concealed. Since June 2024, Bernard has been among Taiwan’s growing population of undocumented workers. Brokers in Taiwan take a cut of their clients’ wages and have significant influence over their conditions and job prospects. When Bernard’s contract expired in 2022, Bernard said, his broker blacklisted him among other employers. In public, Bernard would not even utter the word “undocumented” in any language, only gesturing with his hands that he ran away. Taiwan’s Labor Ministry said the increase in undocumented migrants was driven by pandemic-related disruption to deportations. It said it has taken various steps to improve conditions for migrant works, including raising the minimum wage, conducting regular inspections of recruitment agencies, introducing a new suspension mechanism for agencies with high rates of absconding workers. Harmony Home has taken in more than 1,600 children over the past two decades. The state is not obligated to shoulder the costs of their care or medical needs. In Lishan, hundreds of undocumented Southeast Asians pick peaches, pears and cabbages. Liuhuang said she would like to see such migrants being allowed to work on farms with proper labour protections. She said she absconded from her job as a childcare worker to work illegally at various mountain farms after becoming frustrated at earning less than half the minimum wage and having grievances ignored by her broker.
Original: 1303 words
Summary: 243 words
Percent reduction: 81.35%