Background
The successful economy of Taiwan, including its vital manufacturing and electronics sector is dependent on foreign labour making it a key migrant worker destination, with more than 700,000 currently employed there. This includes 150,000 migrant workers from the Philippines, part of the 2.2 million Philippines nationals who work abroad.
Both the Philippines and Taiwan have robust legal and regulatory frameworks to manage the recruitment and employment of foreign workers, and when these systems function as they have been designed, the positive outcomes for workers are evident. Yet as this recent 5 Corridors report by FairSquare has shown many thousands of workers are still falling through regulatory cracks and enduring serious abuses as a result.