Taiwan's semiconductor industry is supported by exploitative Filipino workers

Non-profit media outlet Rest of World interviewed Filipino migrant workers, whose food, clothing, shelter and even employment are controlled by brokers, and the reality of Taiwan's semiconductor industry, which relies on their labor.

Taiwan semiconductor boom runs on exploited migrant labor - Rest of World

According to Rest of World, Taiwan, one of the world's leading semiconductor producers, is attracting a huge number of talent from neighboring countries to meet the surging demand for AI chips, with most of its production line workers being migrant workers from the Philippines.

Migrant workers coming to Taiwan are assigned a broker before they arrive, and the broker handles all aspects of the worker's life, including paperwork, accommodation, food, transportation, insurance, etc. The broker also negotiates with employers when workers complain, and workers need the broker's approval to change jobs.

This highly unequal power relationship between brokers and workers leads to many brokers abusing their influence, with some charging exorbitant prices for basic necessities, suppressing worker complaints, and demanding bribes.

'Migrants are told that brokers are on their side, but in reality they are just agents of their employers,' Father Joy Tajonella, a Catholic priest in Taichung who runs a shelter that has become a refuge for the workers, told Rest of World.

by Hsiuwen Liu/Rest of World

Rest of World spoke to more than 20 Filipino workers in Taiwan's semiconductor industry, as well as industry experts, but most of the workers asked Rest of World not to be named because they would be sent home if their identities were revealed.

One common complaint among these workers is that they are skimmed off their wages: Brokers charge workers a fixed monthly service fee, and sometimes additional fees for accommodation, food, transportation, etc. While some tech companies subsidize their employees' broker fees, many Filipino workers say brokers take as much as a fifth of their salary.

For example, Lewis, who responded to an interview with Rest of World, lived in a seven-person room and was charged 3,000 Taiwanese dollars (14,300 yen) per person per month for electricity. This is almost three times the electricity bill of the average Taiwanese household. Lewis was forced to flee his semiconductor packaging job and move to a shelter because he was exploited under various pretexts, including these abnormally high electricity bills.

Asked about the brokers, Lewis said: 'They're all liars. They probably made a good amount of money just from our room.'

by Hsiuwen Liu/Rest of World

To address such issues, Taiwan's labour authorities have set up a 24-hour hotline to receive complaints from foreign workers, which will be referred to local authorities for investigation if necessary.

A spokesperson for Taiwan's Ministry of Labor told Rest of World that efforts include raising awareness of workers' rights on social media and radio, as well as working with workers' countries of origin.

However, when disputes arise between workers and employers, brokers often transfer or send workers back home for 'personal reasons' rather than accepting the matter as a formal complaint.

'The most common reason is personal circumstances. It's never the company or the employer's fault. It's always the worker's fault,' said Father Tajoneira.

Some migrant workers defect from brokers and start working illegally. Taiwan's illegal workforce is expected to nearly double between 2021 and 2025, reaching a record high of 90,000 in early 2025, according to the Taiwanese government.

'May God give us the strength to feed our families and brokers who will not take advantage of us,' prayed one worker receiving a meal at a shelter that doubles as a chapel on Sunday.