The Southern Operations Brigade of the National Immigration Agency's (NIA) Kaohsiung Specialized Operation Brigade recently received a report about a construction site in Fengshan District, Kaohsiung, where they discovered two runaway Indonesian migrant workers. Investigations revealed that an illegal group led by a man surnamed Guo had been recruiting runaway migrant workers in Taiwan and facilitating illegal employment for them. The commission charged by this group for each worker's wages was shockingly three times the market rate. All four members of the group, including Guo, were arrested.
It is understood that the illegal intermediary group led by Guo recruited several runaway migrant workers in Taiwan and provided job dispatch services. Each worker earned an average daily wage of about NT$2,300. The group also offered transportation, housing, and daily living services. However, behind these seemingly considerate services, the group deducted a commission of up to NT$800 from the workers' daily wages, which is significantly higher than the usual NT$100 to NT$300 commission, making it more than three times the market rate.
Despite the high commission, the services and wages provided by the group were still acceptable to the runaway migrant workers, attracting many to cooperate with them. They had job dispatch services across multiple construction sites and factories in the Kaohsiung-Pingtung area.
The Special Duty Team of the National Immigration Agency received a tip-off in February last year about runaway migrant workers illegally working at a factory in Fengshan District. Team members went to investigate and arrested two runaway migrant workers. Further investigation revealed the details of the illegal group's operations and the mastermind behind it. In May last year, they arrested the 32-year-old leader of the group, Guo, and three other members in Fengshan.
After his arrest, Guo lamented that "making money is hard" because, to retain the workers, the group had to provide not only intermediary job services but also act as drivers and nannies to remain competitive, which left the team members amused. However, due to clear evidence of facilitating illegal employment for profit, Guo was given a deferred prosecution and fined NT$30,000 by the prosecutor's office. Recently, he was also fined NT$120,000 by the Kaohsiung City Government Labor Bureau for violating the Employment Service Act.
The NIA stated that according to the Employment Service Act, employing undocumented foreign nationals for illegal work can result in fines of up to NT$750,000. Facilitating illegal employment of foreign nationals can lead to fines of up to NT$500,000. Those profiting from such activities could face imprisonment of up to three years, detention, or fines of up to NT$1.2 million. The NIA will continue to trace the whereabouts of other migrant workers involved with the group and investigate locations employing illegal migrant workers to protect the rights of legal workers and migrants.
〔CTEE / Reporter Ren Yiyu / Comprehensive report〕2024-07-12 12:40
〔photo provided by the Immigration Department / Ren Yiyu Kaohsiung fax 〕