Foreign workers urged to record work life

Staff writer, with CNA

A Taipei-based organization that helps foreign workers called on migrant workers to use cellphones to document their work life as a means of protection.

Karen Hsu (徐瑞希), an executive with the Global Workers’ Organization, Taiwan, made the call at an organization-sponsored forum in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Saturday.

Representatives of Indonesian migrant workers’ groups attended the event to talk about the situation of Indonesian workers in Taiwan and the problems they face.

The organization has been encouraging migrant workers to record their experiences with video cameras or mobile phones.

When necessary, such video recordings can provide protection, Hsu said.

She cited the recent case of an Indonesian caregiver who accused her Taiwanese employer of sexual assault.

The victim’s act of secretly filming the alleged assault helped expose the incident, prompting police to intervene and offer protection to the woman, Hsu said.

Although it must be a painful decision to film oneself being sexually attacked, the footage can be a way of fighting back against maltreatment, Hsu said.

The alleged perpetrator shown in the video, which drew media attention in Indonesia early this month after it was posted on YouTube, was arrested on Sunday.

At Saturday’s forum, several attendants said they are concerned about workers’ safety, human rights and benefits, and how migrant workers can seek help when they get into trouble in a foreign nation.

The organization also held a video and photograph exhibit featuring the lives of Indonesians in Taiwan.

Hsu said there are about 800,000 migrant workers from Southeast Asian nations in Taiwan, including 170,000 Indonesian caregivers.

The caregivers take care of the elderly and people who are physically or mentally challenged, making great contributions to Taiwanese society, Hsu said.