wfn.org | TCN: PCT reaches out to unemployed aboriginals on Labor Day

["Lydia Ma" <enews@pctpress.org>]

>Taiwan Church News

>2984 Edition

>May 4~10, 2009

PCT reaches out to unemployed aboriginals on Labor Day

>Reported by Chiou Kuo-rong

>Written by Lydia Ma

During this year’s Labor Day (May 1st), Taiwan’s 8 biggest  manufacturing unions assembled over ten thousand laborers to stage a

street protest against the national government’s misguided economic  policies. Protestors claimed President Ma’s economic policies

have only benefitted big companies and failed to alleviate the current  unemployment crisis.

Protestors gathered in front of the Presidential Palace claimed that  President Ma was an incompetent civil servant and the people of

Taiwan had the right to “fire” him and oust him from the  Presidential Palace.

Just before the protest, a group of aboriginals held a press conference  to remind the public that 7.93% of aboriginals were currently

among the unemployed and urged the Ma administration to take action and  deal with the serious rate of unemployment among

>aboriginals.

On the eve of the Ma administration’s first anniversary, the  Presbyterian Church in Taiwan’s Indigenous Ministry Committee

partnered with a dozen other aboriginal organizations to form an  alliance that would critique public policies concerning aboriginals.

During the press conference, these organizations analyzed the Ma  administration’s policies concerning employment for aboriginal

laborers and urged the government to address the high rate of  unemployment among aboriginals.

The alliance demanded the Ma administration to quickly pass legislation  that would protect aboriginals’ right to work, ensure public

and private entities would reserve a percentage of job openings for  aboriginal candidates when hiring, and create job opportunities

for aboriginals while at the same time safeguarding their autonomy and  rights.

During the press conference, PCT Associate General Secretary Sing 'Olam  pointed out that a quick tour through aboriginal reserves

would be enough to reveal that the rate of unemployment among  aboriginals was in fact much higher than the figure reported by

government agencies. Sing ‘Olam predicted the actual rate of  unemployment among aboriginals was above 10%.

Sing ‘Olam mocked the Ma administration for being more concerned  about the care of two Pandas given to Taiwan by China than

about the livelihood of aboriginals. “But we don’t want  giveaways, we want jobs!” he emphasized. He also restated the  PCT’s

long-standing commitment in human rights and added that the right to  work was an important component of human rights. The

PCT’s involvement in this alliance is to demonstrate solidarity  with other organizations in caring for aboriginals’ right to work.

According to Rev. Mayaw Komod from West Amis Presbytery, the rate of  unemployment among aboriginals is outrageously high.

Sadly, it is always the same group of people living in native reserves  that monopolize incoming resources and aid, thus preventing

>unemployment figures from decreasing.

To get a sense of how serious unemployment is among aboriginals, an  association in Taipei conducted a survey targeting all logistic

companies in Taipei. The survey indicated that there were over 200  logistic companies in operation in April 2008, in contrast, less

than 20 such companies remained in business by April 2009. According to  the results of this survey, more than 6,000 aboriginal

families had lost their source of income in the past year.

During the press conference, one Tsou tribe aboriginal urged government  officials to open up university academic and research

positions for increasing numbers of aboriginals who hold graduate  degrees as part of an effort to reduce unemployment among

aboriginals. Furthermore, it should be mandated that aboriginal  representatives be included in the field of aboriginal studies. These

proposals would help aboriginals holding post-secondary degrees to find  employment while ensuring that aboriginals are involved in

>research that concern their own culture.

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