Recently, a known Taiwanese bicycle manufacturer became subject to a withhold release order (WRO) by U.S. Customs and Border Protection due to allegations of forced labor. This sanction by a major trade partner of Taiwan highlights the importance of human rights in international supply chain decision-making, as it not only threatens the reputation and image of the brand but poses a great challenge to Taiwan’s continued presence in the global market. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) calls on government agencies and businesses to perform a thorough review of their labor practices.
The NHRC has noticed a variety of labor right violations in certain domestic labor-intensive industries such as manufacturing and construction, including unlawful agency fees, withholding of documentations, long working hours, and low pay, all typical indicators of forced labor. Labor exploitation, sexual exploitation, and even human trafficking are also becoming increasingly common, marking a departure from the spirit of the Forced Labour Convention (ILO C29). The NHRC urges the Ministry of Labor to ease the restrictions on foreign workers switching employers, waive their recruitment fees, and introduce a direct hiring system to reduce the risk of exploitation by intermediaries.
The first edition of the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights was released in 2020, and the NHRC urges the Executive Yuan to regularly review and update the plan based on the three principles introduced five years ago—national responsibilities, respect for human rights by businesses, and effective channels of redress. The NHRC also recommends that the Executive Yuan explore the feasibility of the following administrative actions:
1. Speedy update of the action plan to prevent similar forced labor incidents in the future;
2. Speedy formulation of a set of directives for due diligence in corporate human rights, with clear legal principles for systematic assessment of supply chain accountability;
3. Clear specification of the competent authorities and their responsibilities to ensure accountability; formulation of KPIs and a performance monitoring system for effective interdepartmental resource coordination to ensure the government meets the policy goals set in accordance with the UNGPs; and
4. Formulation of a more concrete and systematic business and human rights education plan to help businesses and their relevant departments hone their human rights risk identification and prevention skills.
At the same time, the NHRC urges Taiwanese businesses to:
1. Fulfill their corporate human rights responsibilities in accordance with the three major principles of protection, respect, and redress;
2. Review labor environment throughout their supply chains to safeguard the rights of local and foreign workers; and
3. Take the initiative to release improvement measures and reports, winning over the trust of the international market with transparency.
With a proactive government and an accountable business sector, we can work together to make “Made in Taiwan” synonymous with human rights protection in the competitive international supply chain.