Press Conference On "Slaves Labor, Human Trafficking"

The Press Conference on Slaves Labor in Taipei

Mr. Tran Vi Duong, Deputy General Secretary of the Legal Aid Foundation (LAF), is standing. The victims sit on the right, with their faces shielded.

On Monday October 19th, 2009 at 10am in the sixth floor office of the Taiwan Legal Aid Foundation (LAF), there was a press conference addressing the issue of labor exploitation of human trafficking. The title of the press conference was " No Human Rights For Foreign Workers and the Elders, Human Trafficking is not regulated and addressed! ". Attending the press conference were five Vietnamese female workers who had worked at the AB nursing institution. Also in attendance were Rev. Nguyen Van Hung, Mr. Tran Vi Duong - Deputy Secretary General of Taiwan Legal Aid Foundation, Ms. Ly My Khanh, - Director of Hope Workers Center, Ms. Hua Thieu Vu - Social Workers of the Alliance to Protect Benefits for the Elderly in Taiwan, and attorneys Tôn Tac Phuong and Lam Dung Tung. There was a plethora of local and international media broadcasting the conference.

Opening the press conference, Mr. Tran listed the reasons for the day’s conference. He said that after the LAF press conference in 2005, concerning numerous Vietnamese female workers who were raped by a “father-son” broker company in Tainan, the situation of slave labor and labor exploitation has not changed in Taiwan. The 2009 press conference was to inform the public about the horrendous crime against human rights and human dignity of the Vietnamese foreign workers. They have been enslaved since they arrived and worked at the institution. Both Foreign workers and the elders became victims of labor exploitation.

According to the workers, there are about 15 Vietnamese female workers working at the AB nursing institution. They all are from North Vietnam. They arrived and worked at the institution in different times. Prior to arriving and commencing working in Taiwan, each person has to pay a Vietnamese broker an amount of money, ranging from $5,200 to $5,500 US dollars. Since they pay so much in advance, the Vietnamese female workers are enslaved to their employer, until they can pay off their debt. In the meantime, they are forced to endure physical and psychological abuses like slaves.

Long work hours, with very little pay, is common practice at the AB Nursing Institution. Ms. “Thu”, who has worked almost 3 years among the five, tearfully described her work situation. “I have to commence working from 05:30 and finish at 21:30”. She said that she is allowed to have a lunch break for 2 hours. However, she had never had a complete 2 hour break since working in this nursing home; she had to be ready to serve the elders. That is the boss’ order! Furthermore, daily she had to wake up in between her sleep from 01:00 -02:00 in order to take care of the elderly, with the other night shift workers.

She and her co-workers had to do all kinds of work such as massaging the elderly, changing diapers, giving medication, feeding, bathing, cleaning toilets, cleaning bathrooms, cleaning the facility, watering flowers, etc. They worked non-stop as if they are machineries.

The workers endured long hours and hard labor, yet each of them only received monthly $2,000NT in cash (equivalent to app. $67USD). The remaining amount is unknown to the workers, until six months later when the workers request the employer send money home. However, the employer only sends 4 out of 6 months salary. The other 2 months are withheld as deposit to prevent the workers from escaping in the future. The employer never stated the exact monthly wage. The workers have never seen their bank statements. Ms. “Thắm” received a total of $4,000NT for her nearly 5 months of long hours of hard labor. As for Ms. “Thu”, her family received only a third of her salary for the entire 3 years. Every time the workers asked the employer to send the money home, so that their family can pay off their debts, the employer always yelled at them and threatened to repatriate them back to Vietnam. The workers were frightened and fearful.

The employer confiscated all important documents such as Passports, Alien Resident Certificates and Health Care Cards. The workers were not allowed to keep anything for themselves. Because everything is confiscated, the workers could not visit the doctor when they were sick. Inhumanly, the employer always told them to wait for a Taiwanese to take them to see the doctor. However, the time of waiting is 8 to 10 days. Unbearable with the sickness, they usually begged for medication from their Vietnamese co-workers, who had recently arrived from Vietnam. The workers said that the employer treated them with inhuman and slave like behavior. Confiscating important documents is an act of mental and psychological control. It is gravely heavier than the chains utilized to chain slaves of the 19th and 20th century.

The entrance doors are clocked 24hrs. a day.

The employer violated the workers’ rights of freedom of movement. The employer did not allow the workers to leave the facility. The door was always locked and a Taiwanese employee held the keys. Ms. "Tham" was allowed to go outside twice to buy personal toiletries during her entire 4 months of work. Unbelievably, Ms. “Thu” was only permitted to go outside 5 times during the entire 3 years of employment. The employer always sent a Taiwanese along to watch over them and simultaneously chased them back after 1 hour.

The workers did not have an independent and private space to rest after work. They were forced to sleep together in the same room with the elders. Therefore, they could not fully rest, since the elders often yelled and mumbled loudly at night time. Their co-workers, who had to look after many patients during the night shift, also interrupted their sleep. Physically, the workers were often tired the next day. They did not have sufficient energy to carry on their work. In addition, they were forced to eat the same food that the elderly was fed. Nutritiously speaking, it is not suitable for workers who have to do hard labor and work long hours. Contradictorily, each worker has to pay the employer monthly $5,000NT for food and boarding at the facility.

It is excessive abuse when the workers were not given any holiday and could not take any day off during the month. Everyone must work 365 days a year. On the public holidays, regulated by Taiwan Labor Law, all workers must be allowed to take holiday. However if the workers agree to work, the employer must pay them overtime. Therefore, the employer of the AB Nursing Institution breaks the law. Furthermore, overtime is not registered by time cards. Each time the workers inquired about overtime, the employer threatened to repatriate them back to Vietnam.

According to the workers, each person must take care of 12 to 17 elders during the day and at night, a total of 25 to 40 people. Due to the lack of night shift workers, the quality of care is reduced. Inhumanly, the employer demanded the workers tie the elders’ hands and feet to the bed during the night shift. The workers felt compassion towards the elders. However, they had to obey the employer’s order. Consequently, there were numerous times when the elders protested, by biting the hands of the workers, causing multiples bruises.

Foreign workers are not being respected for their human rights. The elders are also subjected to no human rights. The caregivers, as well as the patients, are the victims of greedy employer.

After the presentation of the workers, father Nguyen Van Hung, Executive Director was invited to speak. He emphasized the aspects of labor exploitation cases. For the resolution, we must enforce the anti-trafficking law instead of just using labor dispute. He said, "The office has received many requests from the workers in the nursing home. Today’s case, is not only one but there are many more. This situation must end soon”. In addition, he also mentioned two issues that the government needed to pay attention and give resolution. The first issue is about the police department, and the second issue is about the local labor department.

On the evening of May 10, 2009, a female worker, "Thu", called the priest and reported that the owner was abusing her physically by having someone beat her. He was also forcing her to return home to Việt Nam before her contract expired. She called 110 and reported to the police that she was beaten. The police arrived, talked to the employer and left, despite the persisted pleading from the victim requesting to be hospitalized for a medical examination. Thereafter, father Hùng called three other local police stations in the city of Bàn Kiều. The police on call did not help to resolve the complaints, but continued to transfer the call back and forth between multiple police departments, with the promise to return the call at a later time. All efforts resulted in no help from the police. Police must help resolve the problem as soon as they receive the complaint, especially when the victim cannot wait while their lives are being endangered.

The Deputy chief of Taipei County’s Labor Bureau (BLA) did not listen to the cry of the workers. On Tuesday Oct. 6th 2009 at 21:30, the deputy chief of Taipei county BLA called and informed Fr. Nguyen about the coming reconciliation meeting organized by the BLA on Friday Oct. 9th 2009. Fr. Nguyen informed the deputy that the workers would like a lawyer present at the meeting. The reason was that they worried their rights would not protected. They witnessed the influence of the Taipei County Councilor the day before. The police and BLA’s officers changed their behavior when the councilor appeared. The deputy, however, declined the workers’ cry for help. She repetitively stated that there was no need to have a lawyer. She is only interfering the process of the meeting. Actually, the deputy should consider providing a lawyer or proposing the office find a lawyer to help the workers, not vice-versa. This behavior and this attitude need to be re-examined, especially for a person who is holding an important role in the Taipei County government. The rights of foreign workers will not be protected when those in high position, such as the Deputy, see it that way.

The worker was physically abused by the employer and her men.

In conclusion, Father Nguyen asked the Council of Labor Affairs, Taipei county BLA and the Police Department to quickly establish strategies to investigate and resolve labor exploitation of human trafficking. Since labor exploitation has been sophisticatedly institutionalized in many nursing homes, the Taiwanese government should not use labor disputes to resolve the problems. The government has to utilize human trafficking laws to deal with it.

Attorneys Ton Tac Phuong and Lam Dung Tung utilized their law expertise to explain, analyze and challenge the government’s attitude. They urged the Taiwanese government to protect human rights and dignity of migrant workers in Taiwan. They said that there was sufficient evidence to prove this case as labor exploitation of human trafficking. According to art. 32 of Anti Human Trafficking law, the AB Nursing Institution’s abuse should be treated not as a labor dispute but as a human trafficking case.

The press conference ended at 11am on October 19th 2009. The following day, news of the press conference was reported on several television stations, websites and newspapers.

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