Taiwan Estimated to See over Half Million Alien Workers by Yearend

Taiwan had foreign workers totaling 492,000 as of the end of February and the number is predicted to grow to 510,000 at the end of this year based on average annual growth of 5% in OCW (overseas contract worker) over the past 10 years, according to the Ministry of Labor (MOL).

In the 1980s when Taiwan's economy was ballooning, many enterprises, especially manufacturers on the island had difficulty finding workers, because young people were unwilling to take the so-called 3K (Japanese: kitanai, kiken, and kitsui) or 3D (English: dangerous, dirty, and difficult) jobs. So the government started in 1992 to import OCWs and brought in some 150,000 OCWs in the following three years.

Today OCWs account for 4% of Taiwan's labor force and are mainly in construction & manufacturing as well as domestic caregiving. Those in manufacturing sometimes complain of lacking freedom for some factories enforce curfews, while domestic caregivers are often deprived of any day-off and even proper sleep due to having to care for bed-ridden patients.

Indonesians make up the largest proportion of 216,000 workers or 70% of Taiwan's OCWs, with most of them working as domestic helpers or caretakers, with Vietnamese being the second largest and engaged mainly in manufacturing. (JL)