"Maria" The domestic female worker

[ceevee369]

So many beutiful people with beutiful names and yet we go on asking and accepting Western Names as the norm.
JMHO

Divea's +1

But do WE ask for Western Names? I don't think so. Any Local needing to travel wants/ needs? to have an English understandable surname.
For sure - if you work with 50 people around you here - it might be more challenging remembering and spelling their Chinese names

As for the most common Girly Western names overheard here : Fish, Apple, Kitty, Joy(ce) , no - they should not. Their Chinese name might be much gracious vs. an English surname they will regret over time.
But - HEY - this is Taiwan. Local's change their Western surnames whenever they want - depending of whatever is "trendy" @ that right moment.
My favorite encountered for males : Rambo, Arnold, Sylvester, Schumacher, (No Pedro's or Hugo's though)

[touduke]

These people are exploited and then disposed of.

Isn't it the same for Engrishy teachers? To be fair, I think the environment for blue collar workers in Taiwan is a hell of a lot better than some locations (e.g., Middle East, Singapore) and when there are problems (e.g., K-city MRT project), it is usually in the South and because of Hoklo intolerance. Or its sleazy elders taking advantage of nannies.

Contracts have also recently changed so that manual workers can stay in Taiwan longer. Women workers are vulnerable but I've seen a lot of big companies take really good care of their female workers and even extend their contracts past 5 years. I think that a lot of people stirring up trouble here are bleeding heart teachers that are projecting first world labour agitation values.

ChewDawg - it's not the same - at least I've never heard that English teachers have to leave the country after a maximum of 3 years.
Ok. maybe the law for domestic workers has changed recently. But last I talked to the domestic helps in my neighborhood it wasstill the same. You can have 3 years in Taiwan if the boss is nice enough to give it to you, otherwise it is "hasta la vista" after one or two years.

Migrant workers are allowed to work in Taiwan only for a limited period. After a maximum stay of three years, migrant workers must leave Taiwan for at least a day so that they can not be eligible to apply for permanent residency

http://www.smc.org.ph/misa/uploads/country_reports/1285920042.pdf

[ChewDawg]

ChewDawg - it's not the same - at least I've never heard that English teachers have to leave the country after a maximum of 3 years.

They can now stay up to 12 years after changes were made to the Employment Services Act. Under the amendment, foreign workers, domestic helpers, caregivers and fishing boat workers will all have their service limit extended from nine to 12 years. They have to leave for one day every 3 years. So what?

Lot of developed countries have temporary worker programs that don't offer citizenship (some do but not all). Is Taiwan really unique here or unfairly being picked on from the teacher element?

[touduke]

They have to leave for one day every 3 years. So what?

haha!

[ChewDawg]

They have to leave for one day every 3 years. So what?

haha!

My point is that this is no different from many temporary worker programs in the developed world. Some offer citizenship at the end of the terms, but a lot don't. Why pick on Taiwan? A Mexican with a TN-1 Nafta visa going into the US to work for a few years won't get a green card. And that's for a professional class of worker not a blue collar labourer.

Do you want to address that issue?

In both instances, the worker (whether a blue collar manual worker in Taiwan or an engineer/teacher/consultant etc. in the US leaves at the end of a finite time period without citizenship/PR.

I'm all for protecting human rights, but let's not forget that a lot of the migrants from the Philippines, Vietnam or other places would make a fraction of the amount they make in Taiwan if they stayed in their village. That's why they came. I totally sympathize with these working migrants, but who should they really be blaming? Taiwan laobans/government officials or their own corrupt political class that has shafted them (e.g.. PI once had the highest GDP per capital in Asia after Japan)? That country was better as a US protectorate.

[touduke]

ChewDawg - about the situation of the workers in the US - well I'd think their biggest concern might not be that they might be called "Jose" - but more like how they build up their lives. Just like I think a girl from Indonesia working in Taiwan has other more pressing concern other than being called Maria.

just out of curiosity - are these TN-1 Nafta visa professionals coming from Mexico also not allowed to marry or to get pregnant like their "counterparts" in Taiwan? Are they allowed to chose habitation, are they allowed to leave their dorm by night, is their passport confiscated, do they have fixed working hours? How much are they protected by law - or how much are they depending on the "good-will" of their bosses?

Another point - I think it is odd that you ask why the topic of blue-collar workers ("Marias") in Taiwan comes up on a on-line bulletin board frequented by many foreigners in Taiwan. I guess it's not about 'picking on Taiwan' but rather about something going on in the place we live.

for those interested, here's a link to an article from the Editorials of the Taipei Times
Foreigners used as virtual slaves
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2012/03/28/2003528869

[PigBloodCake]

Can't stand western names of the Taiwanese or the Chinese. Puke. For all its progressiveness I find this bit quite backward in TW. I know a girl with fantastic English skills and she never took a western name...no one has problems pronouncing or even remembering her name. This need to fit in is quite disconcerting.

In case you haven't noticed, some of the tw/chinese folks didn't exactly lived in the 'wan for all of their lives.

Yeah, like my name is Wang Shang Kang and I am moving to Nashville, TN?

Let me give you a phrase for what you've just said: 不要一桿子打翻一條船

[ChewDawg]

just out of curiosity - are these TN-1 Nafta visa professionals coming from Mexico also not allowed to marry or to get pregnant like their "counterparts" in Taiwan? Are they allowed to chose habitation, are they allowed to leave their dorm by night, is their passport confiscated, do they have fixed working hours? How much are they protected by law - or how much are they depending on the "good-will" of their bosses?

The answer to your question would depend/differ based on the employer---just as in Taiwan.

[914]

Don't y'all call taikes "ah huang?" on this here forum?

Most (not all) Philippinos I know have Maria as one of their middle names. I call them helpers myself. Maid sounds so...class-ist.

We're in the process of hiring a foreign helper and the agency I'm working with is very helpful, but boy, some of the stuff im told are stereotypical and racist. Coming from San Francisco, liberal Capitol, it's a shocker.

[finley]

The Filipinas (especially the illegal ones) refer to their skivvying jobs as 'part-time' (just 'part-time', not 'part-time work'), implying that they have better things to do with the rest of their lives. It also seems to be (occasionally) used as a proper noun: 'my part-time [person]'.

Interestingly, it's only the legal ones who are treated like shit because the law implicitly encourages it. The illegal ones are basically self-employed, earn pretty good wages, and get to choose who they work for. The gov't is missing out on a vast chunk of potential tax revenue by not firing the "agents", putting abusive employers in jail, and extending normal employee protection to migrant workers. It's quite shocking how few legislators have any background in or understanding of basic economics, never mind human rights issues.