Foreign workers want a day off

More than a thousand workers from Southeast Asia marched through the streets of Taipei today. The march had the slogan “Still no day off” and called on the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) to ensure that workers have one day off per week.

The protest is a biennial event which began in 2003 and is held near the date of Human Rights Day. Taiwan has more than 300,000 migrant workers from Southeast Asia.

The situation of domestic workers was highlighted. Foreign workers hired to do domestic work receive a minimum salary of NT$15,840 compared to the minimum basic wage in Taiwan of NT$17,280. These workers are often on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Another group arguing for their rights were the “stateless Chinese”. These people hold ROC passports but don’t have an ID card in Taiwan and are denied some of the rights available to Taiwanese citizens. A man from the group told me there are about 1,800 people in this situation who were originally from the Philippines.