Students from Swaziland /
Eswatini studying in Taiwan are being made to work in a frozen chicken factory
for 40 hours a week to pay for tuition and accommodation. If they try to leave
their university will punish them and their condition has been likened to
slavery.
More than 40 Swazi students
are said to be involved, according to the Swazi
Observer newspaper. It said they only attend studies for two
days a week.
The Observer reported on Monday (19 November 2018) the students went to
Taiwan in September 2018 to study for a Bachelor of Business Administration
(BBA) at the private MingDao University in Pitou.
The Observer reported, ‘According to several sources who are based in
Taiwan, and familiar with the situation, these students are forced to work in
the chicken factory where they are made to peel chickens under freezing
temperatures to pay for their tuition fees and accommodation at the university.
‘They work for 40 hours in
a week, which is ten hours per day. The conditions are so unfavourable that two
of the students are reportedly back in the country after failing to keep up
with the situation.’ It added the students only
have one full day and a half day of studies and they work for five days.
It quoted a source saying, ‘The
institution is making a profit out of the students because they get only two
per cent of their earnings and the rest is forfeited for tuition fees and
accommodation but the forfeited sum is way more than the fees of the two. This
is a case of slavery and the students all want to come back home due to the unfavourable
conditions they are exposed to in Taiwan.’
It reported one student likened
the situation to ‘slavery’ because ‘the students cannot just leave, as the
university will punish those remaining behind’.
The source said, ‘If you
run away, the ones left behind will be made to suffer.’
Swaziland makes a lot of
its relationship with Taiwan. The kingdom ruled by King Mswati III as an
absolute monarch is the only nation in Africa that officially recognises
Taiwan. In 2018 Taiwan gave the King US$1.3
million towards the cost of his 50th birthday celebration.
In April 2018 the King called on the United Nations to admit Taiwan to the organisation.
Taiwan,
which calls itself the Republic of China on Taiwan, is not recognised by the UN
because the People’s Republic of China claims the territory as its own.
Taiwan has a history of
exploitation in Swaziland. Taiwanese textile firms operate in
Swaziland and
have a poor record on workers’ rights.
In July 2014 a
survey of the Swazi textile industry undertaken by the Trade Union Congress
of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) revealed workers were subjected to harsh and sometimes
abusive conditions, many of the kingdom’s labour laws were routinely violated
by employers, and union activists were targeted by employers for punishment.
More than 90 percent of workers surveyed reported being punished by management
for making errors, not meeting quotas or missing shifts. More than 70 percent
of survey respondents reported witnessing verbal and physical abuse in their
workplace by supervisors.
Commenting on the survey, the American labour
federation AFL-CIO said, ‘Some workers reported that supervisors slap or hit
workers with impunity. In one example, a worker knocked to the ground by a line
manager was suspended during an investigation of the incident while the line
manager continued in her job.
‘Women reported instances of sexual harassment, as
well. Several workers said they or other contract (temporary) workers were
offered a permanent job in exchange for sex.’
Mistreatment
of workers in the textile industry in Swaziland has been known for many
years and workers have staged strikes
and other protests to draw attention to the situation.
Taiwan also donates aid to Swaziland. It regularly
supplies tens
of thousands of pairs of sneakers to women who participate in the annual
Reed Dance where ‘maidens’ dance topless in front of the King. It is also spending E260
million (US$21 million) over five years to rebuild the out-patient
department of Mbabane Government Hospital.
See also
‘Slave
labour’ at textile factory
Taiwan
first guest at King’s party
No comments:
Post a Comment