Three Filipino students in Taiwan on Monday, March 4, 2019, accused a manpower broker and Yu Da University of Science and Technology (YDUST) of switching their part-time employment contracts to work 40 hours per week at a tile manufacturing facility, double the maximum 20 hours a week legally allowed for part-time job foreign students.
In response to this case, the Ministry of Education in Taiwan (hereinafter refered to as MOE) made a statement as follows:
First, upon receiving the message, MOE asked YDUST to clarify the disputes on February 21st, and sent officials to YDUST to make a thorough investigation on February 25th.
Secondly, after examining the contracts that students signed with a manpower broker named "Faith Association", it’s firmly believed that these contracts are not legal and fair, and MOE assisted the students to abolish these contracts at once unconditionally and asked the factory to reimburse the payment to the students they have made.
Thirdly, the incident is "completely intolerable" and the MOE will hold YDUST fully accountable for it.
Fourthly, MOE will help the students involved find suitable schools to transfer to if they want to stay in Taiwan afterwards.
Fifthly, because YDUST didn’t take care of foreign students well, MOE has decided to forbid YDUST from enrolling new foreign students starting this semester. Furthermore, this case has been further handed over to prosecutors to determine if the broker or YDUST violated any articles of the Criminal Code.
Finally, MOE emphasizes that universities should enroll foreign students by themselves not through brokers. In addition, universities should protect and ensure students work rights under relevant laws and regulations if students need to do part- time jobs to pay their tuition and miscellaneous fees. More importantly, universities should set up a sound mechanism regarding student’s learning and life counseling to ensure students‘ adaptation to Taiwan learning and living environment. MOE has also been establishing a specialized website (www.nisa.moe.gov.tw) and toll- free hotline(0800-789-007) to provide foreign students with related information, regulations and consultations.