mn u Ottawa L'Universite canadieniie Canada's university FACULTE DES ETUDES SUPERIEURES 1^=1 FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND ET POSTOCTORALES U Ottawa POSDOCTORAL STUDIES L'Umversite caiiadienne Canada's university Katherine Ann Blyth O'Brian ^„_„_.^___„„„„„„„^.„„„^.„ M.A. (Globalization and International Development) School of International Development and Global Studies Filipina Caregivers and Domestic Workers in Southern Taiwan: Communities and Human Rights TITRE DE LA THESE / TITLE OF THESIS Scott Simon Natacha Gagng Philippe Regnier Gary W. Slater Le Doyen de la Faculte des etudes superieures et postdoctorales / Dean of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Filipina Caregivers and Domestic Workers in Southern Taiwan: Communities and Human Rights By Katie O'Brian A Thesis Presented for the Requirements of the Degree of Master of Arts School of International Development & Global Studies UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA October 2010 © Katie O'Brian, Ottawa, Canada, 2010 Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington OttawaONK1A0N4 OttawaONK1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-74157-3 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-74157-3 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extra its substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1+1 Canada Abstract This thesis is an ethnographic explorative case study of Filipina caregivers and domestic workers in Taiwan, based on seven months of field research. It combines participant observation, interviews with Filipina household workers and migrant worker NGO representatives and church workers, and a review of written materials from these NGOs. Using Arjun Appadurai's (1996) theoretical framework on landscapes and the production of locality, it explores how Filipina household workers create locality in the production of transnational ethnoscapes, as well as how they demand the recognition of their rights within the transnational ideoscapes of human rights. I found that Filipinas create locality through the creation and use of Filipino spaces, including the Catholic Church, Filipino restaurants and shops, and public spaces likes parks. With respect to human rights, I found that Filipina household workers demand the recognition of their human rights through the assistance of the Church and migrant workers NGOs, but with limited success. ii To the Filipina caregivers and domestic workers in Tainan who generously let me into their lives and shared their stories with me iii Acknowledgments I would like to acknowledge and thank a number of people for their help and support throughout the course of my research and writing: My supervisor, Scott Simon, whose critique of my work was insightful and supportive, and helped to make me into a better (and more concise) writer. The Filipina caregivers and domestic workers in Tainan who kindly let me interview and talk with them about their lives in Taiwan, generously allowing me to tag along on their outings, to their parties and celebrations. You all inspire me in countless ways - from your strength, your warmth, your kindness and your unfaltering sense of humour - and have taught me far more than I could have hoped for. I could never have conducted my research without your invaluable support and contribution. I hope that I have succeeded in documenting your lives in Taiwan correctly, and given you all a voice. Thank you for everything. Special thanks go to Anna who helped me contact numerous respondents, taking time out of her busy life to help me in my research. The Filipino migrant worker community in Taiwan, whose unwavering help and support was essential for my research. Particular mention must be made to the two church groups with whom I spent countless Sundays, as well as to Samuel for all his help. You all welcomed me into your churches and communities with open arms and answered my numerous queries and questions with patience and kindness. Thanks to you, I have learnt a lot about what it means to be Filipino and what community truly is. I am immensely grateful. Finally, the NGO and church workers around Taiwan, who tirelessly advocate on behalf of and support migrant workers, day in and day out, in order to give these men and women a better life in Taiwan, not only as workers but as human beings. Thank you for your time, for answering my myriad of questions about migrant labour in Taiwan and for explaining the fine details of lobbying, advocacy and case work to me. I am truly inspired by the work that each one of you does and hope that this thesis stands as a testament to that. Maraming salamat sa inyong lahat. Katie O'Brian October 2010 IV TABLE OF CONTENTS Page List of Acronyms 1 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 3 Literature Review 6 Methodology 18 Context of the Thesis 27 Overview of the Thesis 33 CHAPTER 2: FILIPINA HOUSEHOLD WORKERS & THE MIGRANT LABOUR SYSTEM 35 Transnational Filipina Household Workers: Essential Players in the Worldwide Feminization of Migrant Labour 35 What is Sending Filipinas Household Workers around The World? 38 A Brief History of Migrant Labour & Filipinos in Taiwan 41 Pull Factors in Taiwan 41 Migrant Labour: An Undesired Necessity 43 Domestic and Caregiving Work in Taiwan 45 Filipinos Compared with Other Nationalities of Migrant Workers 47 The Broker System, the Labour Laws & the Contracts that Govern the Lives of Filipino Caregivers and Domestic Workers in Taiwan 50 The Broker System-"It's Evil and Has to Go" 50 Labour Laws Governing Foreign Workers 55 Domestic 'Helper' and Caregiver Contracts 56 CHAPTER 3: THE PRODUCTION OF LOCALITY 58 The Church as Home - A Religious, Social, and Community-Oriented Space 60 Church as aReligious and Spiritual Center 61 Friendliness and Hospitality through the Church 62 The Church and Its Filipino-ness 65 v The Role of Foreign Missionaries 67 A Sense of Place 69 Spending the Day off at Church - A Cheaper Option than Going Downtown 71 A Safe Place to Confide, Listen, and Find a Sympathetic Ear 72 Social Events Run through the Church 73 Funding for Social Events and the Economic Crisis 76 The Migrant Worker Neighbourhood 79 Use of Public Spaces 83 A Thriving Civil Society in a Transnational Filipino Ethnoscape 87 Community Creation for Household Workers 90 Making the Most of Limited Time 94 CHAPTER 4 - THE DEMAND FOR THE RECOGNITION OF HUMAN RIGHTS 99 Background on Human Rights in Anthropology and Ethnography & Relevant Human Rights Instruments 100 Churches as De Facto NGOs in Tainan - Seeking Assistance through the Church 103 Migrant Worker NGOs in Taiwan 106 Why Don't Household Workers Stand up for Their Rights? 115 Complaints of Household Workers 120 Not Passive Victims 124 CHAPTER 5: Conclusion 129 APPENDICES 143 Appendix 1: Ethics Approval 143 Appendix 2: Demographic Information for Caregiver and Domestic Worker Sample 145 Appendix 3: Hometown and Language of Caregiver and Domestic Worker Sample 147 vi • Appendix 4A: Question Guide for Interviews with Domestic Workers and Caregivers 148 Appendix 4B: Question Guide for Interviews with Migrant Worker NGO Representatives / Church Workers 152 Appendix 5: Migrants' Empowerment Network in Taiwan (MENT): Member Organizations and MENT's 5 Policy and Lobbying Issues 153 BIBLIOGRAPHY 154 vn List of Acronyms BLA - Bureau of Labour Affairs, located in each city in Taiwan, manages local labour affairs CED AW - Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women CLA - Council of Labour Affairs, located in Taipei City, manages national labour affairs ESA- Employment Services Act, the Taiwanese act which sets forth the employment and regulation of workers in Taiwan HMISC - Hsinchu Catholic Diocese Migrants and Immigrants Service Center, in Hsinchu, Taiwan HSA - Household Service Act, drafted by migrant worker NGOs in Taiwan to protect the rights of household workers HWC - Hope Workers' Center, in Chungli, Taiwan, the first migrant worker NGO in Taiwan ILO - International Labour Organization