Taipei: The Ministry of Labor (MOL) on Monday rejected calls to halt a planned ban on charging recruitment-related fees to migrant workers in the manufacturing and fishing sectors, asserting that the policy is mandated under the Taiwan-U.S. Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART).
According to Focus Taiwan, the MOL emphasized that Taiwan had committed under the ART to implementing the principle of "fair recruitment." This commitment mirrors efforts by the United States and the European Union to make the prevention of forced labor a condition for market access, aiming to safeguard Taiwan's industrial competitiveness and supply chain resilience. Migrant workers in Taiwan often pay recruitment-related costs themselves, including fees charged by agencies in their home countries, airfare, and other pre-departure expenses. The U.S. government and labor rights groups have expressed concern that this practice can leave workers vulnerable to debt bondage and forced labor.
Under its commitment to "fair recruitment" in the ART, Taiwan is required to prohibit charging recruitment fees and related costs to migrant workers in the manufacturing and fishing sectors within three years of the agreement's entry into force. In April, the MOL announced plans to pursue legislative amendments requiring employers in these sectors to cover migrant workers' overseas recruitment fees and related costs for the duration of the employment contract, although it did not specify when it would submit the proposed amendments. "Household employers, however, are not covered by the ART," the MOL clarified, referring to individuals and families who hire live-in migrant caregivers and domestic helpers.
The MOL's response was prompted by a petition opposing the planned ban, which was launched in mid-April by the International Association of Families and Employers with Disabilities (IAFED) and received 5,929 endorsements on the Public Policy Participation Platform. Operated by the National Development Council, the platform mandates a formal government response within two months if a petition receives at least 5,000 endorsements within 60 days.
In the petition, the IAFED criticized the shift to employer-paid recruitment-related fees as "an invisible tax imposed on Taiwan's small and medium-sized enterprises, fishing industry, and families caring for people with disabilities in the name of international human rights." Among its proposals, the association urged the government to conduct a comprehensive economic impact assessment, hold public hearings, and establish a cost-sharing mechanism involving the government, employers, and migrant workers' countries of origin. It estimated that requiring employers to cover all overseas recruitment-related expenses could add between NT$100,000 (US$3,084) and NT$190,000 to the cost of hiring each migrant worker.
The MOL did not address that estimate in its response but stated it had begun consulting employers in the affected industries on the policy. An increasing number of employers in these industries have recognized the global trend toward fair recruitment and the potential trade risks linked to forced labor, it added.
During the three-year transition period, the MOL plans to continue consulting industry representatives, employer groups, relevant government agencies, and the governments of migrant workers' countries of origin to "develop accompanying measures and provide supporting resources."