South Taiwan restaurant illegally hires 11 migrant workers to make zongzi

南台灣餐廳非法僱傭11名移工粽子

Undocumented Indonesian worker cries after learning she will be deported, restaurant owner says business 'doesn't earn enough to pay the fine'


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A restaurant in Kaohsiung faces up to NT$750,000 (US$24,300) in fines for illegally employing migrant workers to make zongzi, with one unaccounted-for foreign worker set to be deported.

The Southern Administration Corps of the National Immigration Agency (NIA) received a report that foreign migrant workers were frequently spotted at a house in Kaohsiung City's Qianzhen District, and the residence smelled like bamboo leaves. The corps conducted an investigation, arresting 11 foreign migrant workers for engaging in illegal part-time work, which involved preparing ingredients, wrapping zongzi, and cooking the rice dumplings, reported NOWnews.

The person who owns the restaurant, surnamed Lin (林), told officers that orders for zongzi during Dragon Boat Festival are an important source of revenue. Lin said that she had received a large number of orders but was short-staffed, so she took a risk and hired one unaccounted-for Indonesian migrant worker and 10 Vietnamese migrant workers.

The undocumented migrant worker reportedly cried at the scene when she learned that she would be deported back to Indonesia. In a photo by the NIA, the restaurant owner is seen hugging the Indonesian worker after she learns she will be deported.

Since migrant workers are only allowed to engage in work that they have applied for, other part-time jobs are illegal. The restaurant can face a fine of up to NT$750,000 for breaching the Employment Service Act (就業服務法).

When Lin learned that she may be fined such a large sum for illegally employing the workers, she reportedly said her business "doesn't earn enough to pay the fine."