Taiwanese officials mull "complete ban" on Philippines labor.....

By GMA News, on May 13th, 2013

 

A complete ban on Philippine labor may be imposed by Taiwanese government officials within the week to get back at the Philippines for the fatal shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman in disputed waters last May 9.

Government departments spent Monday drafting and evaluating such punitive measures over the May 9 shooting, Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported.
The CNA report posted on TaiwanNews.com said “a complete ban on Filipino labor” is likely to take effect by May 15.

It quoted an official of the Taiwan Cabinet’s Council of Labor Affairs as saying such a ban is “the most severe measure” of its kind and may take effect if a 72-hour ultimatum for the Philippines lapses.

Earlier, Taiwan gave the Philippines until midnight of Tuesday to apologize for the incident, compensate the fatality’s kin, probe the incident and punish those found guilty, and enter into fishery talks with Taiwan soonest.

The CNA report quoted the official as saying no new applications of Filipino workers for employment in Taiwan will be processed, and those who have permits to work in Taiwan will not be granted a visa if they have not yet entered there.

On the other hand, those required to leave Taiwan after their three-year work permits expire will not be allowed to re-enter as before.

The CNA report said there are about 87,000 Filipino workers in Taiwan, most of them employed in the electronics sector.

Economics Minister Chang Chia-Juch tried to downplay the impact, saying there are migrant workers from other sources. Chang added the number of Filipino workers in Taiwan is low compared with those from other countries.

But as of end-March, the CNA report said the Philippines was the third largest source of migrant workers in Taiwan, next to Indonesia with more than 198,000 workers and Vietnam with nearly 102,000.

Arrangements
According to the CNA report, two major employers of Filipino workers in Taiwan said they will make necessary arrangements in line with the proposed ban.
LCD panel makers Innolux Corp. and AU Optronics Corp. (AUO) said they will comply with the government’s policy on hiring foreign workers.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs said it would postpone or suspend bilateral economic exchanges, including annual vice ministerial talks in July or August and a ministerial meeting scheduled before end-2013.
BM, GMA News