(See the end of Chinese paragraphs for English translation.)
今天（6/30）上午品安和 宋國鼎律師 苗栗縣議員 、邱顯智立委一起和代表菲律賓政府的馬尼拉經濟文化辦事處（MECO）留文克代理代表（Gilberto F. Lauengco）、高雄分處賴愛仁處長（Irene S. Ng）、台中分處勞工部比恩賽波主任（Bienvenido. A. Cerbo Jr.）及佳蕊副主任（Rosario C. Burayag）會面，並在下午陪同MECO的貴賓一起到縣府與陳斌山秘書長、勞工及青年發展處彭德俊處長及勞工服務科楊文東科長會談。
苗栗縣內移工共有近2萬3千人，其中產業類移工有1萬5千多人，而菲籍移工就佔苗栗縣移工人數約三分之一。MECO代理代表留文克昨天曾和越南、印尼、泰國的駐台代表開會討論，此行除了關心近期京元電子及盛華仲介處理移工宿舍降載搬遷的問題，與縣府極具爭議性的移工禁足令之外，也提出建立溝通平台的建議，希望透過移工、MECO、仲介/雇主及縣府的共同參與，傾聽移工的訴求，再由MECO和縣府一起與仲介/雇主協調，協助解決相關問題。
今天見到MECO的貴賓們，品安其實覺得很汗顏。過去幾週以來，品安雖然對縣府的移工禁足令提出質疑，也盡力敦促縣府要求仲介和雇主改善宿舍降載過程中產生的問題，但還是發生了許多讓移工朋友權利受損的不愉快事件，甚至鬧上了國際媒體版面。
目前縣府針對移工的禁足令已經取消，回到三級警戒，但接下來京元電子富比一宿舍違法的改善工作仍亟待關注。據瞭解，京元電子和盛華仲介正在尋找適合的宿舍，預計這週末仍有將近四百位移工需要再遷移。這幾天品安也接到許多移工朋友們的訊息，表達不想搬遷的訴求，品安知道移工經歷前一次混亂的降載搬遷都很驚慌，但實在不容許再讓移工朋友們繼續住在有安全疑慮的違法宿舍裡。
台灣移工防疫的工作在中央由勞動部主管，勞動部卻把責任都推到雇主和仲介身上。品安也相信業者們都因此遇到許多困難，這點勞動部真的應該多加油。而苗栗縣移工的狀況接下來將有MECO的協助，希望京元電子和盛華仲介妥善處理好搬遷及防疫的相關工作，品安也會繼續與MECO合作，傾聽移工朋友們的聲音，敦促縣府，大家一起努力。
In Wednesday (June 30) morning, I met with MECO's Acting Resident Representative Mr. Gilberto F. Lauengco, Kaoshiung Extenstion Office's Director Ms. Irene S. Ng, Philippine Overseas Labor Office's Director Mr. Bienvenido. A. Cerbo Jr. and Deputy Director Ms. Rosario C. Burayag along with my councilor colleague and a legislator. I also accompanied MECO's visit to Miaoli County Government the same afternoon, where we met with its Secretary General Chen, Director Peng of Youth and Labor Development Division and the Division's Section Chief Yang of Labor Services.
There are close to 23,000 migrant workers in Miaoli (over 15,000 work as industry labors). Among all these migrant workers, about one third are from the Philippines. Mr. Lauengco had previously discussed this visit with representatives of Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand on Tuesday, and they all expressed concerns through MECO on the issues in relation to the recent capacity reduction and relocation of KYEC and Senhua dormitories, and on the County Government's controversial movement prohibitions against migrant workers. MECO also proposed a communications platform where the participation of workers, MECO, brokers/employers and the County Government could facilitate the workers' voice being heard, and relevant issues could be resolved with MECO and the County Government's joint mediation efforts with the brokers/employers.
I was actually rather embarrassed during the meeting with MECO. Over the past few weeks I have publicly questioned the County Government's movement prohibitions against migrant workers, and have done my best in asking, through the County Government, that the brokers and employers correct the issues resulting from dormitory capacity reduction. Despite this, several incidents still occurred in which the workers' rights were compromised, and were even covered by international media.
The movement prohibition is now cancelled and alert level 3 measures currently apply. However, the corrective actions required in relation to KYEC's Fullbee 1 dormitories, which violate government regulations, still require urgent attention. Sources indicate that KYEC and Senhua are currently looking for suitable replacement dormitories, and are expected to relocate close to 400 workers this weekend. I have received several messages from the workers, who do not wish to be moved, but while I understand that the workers may be shaken after the last chaotic relocation, we really cannot allow them to keep staying at dormitories which are against regulations and with safety concerns.
Epidemic prevention in relation to migrant workers is the jurisdiction of Ministry of Labor in the central government, but the Ministry is placing all responsibilities on the employers and brokers. I understand that all these employers and brokers must have encountered many challenges for this reason, and the Ministry should really work on improvements in this regard. As for Miaoli's migrant workers, MECO will now provide assistance, and I hope that KYEC and Senhua could manage the upcoming relocation and the associated epidemic prevention work. Going forward, I will also continue to work, both with MECO and through the Country Government, on this issue with the workers' voice in mind.
