The International Center for Cultural Studies at National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan recently held a conference on Dialogue between Law and Society A Seminar on Migrant Workers’ Labor Rights and Government Policies.
The forum is part of a series of events engaging with the theory and praxis of social struggle organized by scholars from the field of legal studies, the social sciences and humanities.
Participants included members of the Taiwan International Workers’ Association (TIWA), Serve the People Association (SPA), Taoyuan Domestic Caregivers’ Union (DCU), Yilan Migrant Fishermen Union (YMFU), Rumahku, Migrante International Taiwan Chapter, representatives of the Ministry of Labor (MoL) and Labor Affairs Department of Yilan County, and labor brokers.
Presenters described how migrants navigate the socio-legal terrain of labor, immigration, gender equality, and human rights law while making a life in Taiwan. Each panel featured two presentations by scholars related to a particular topic followed by impressions from a discussant from a civil society organization.
Among the topics covered were residency and naturalization rights, unionization and collective bargaining, and sexual harassment and assault. On the one hand, the structure of panels reinforced power relations by positioning scholars as privileged producers of knowledge.
On the other hand, the structure destabilized authority over knowledge by having social movement organizers provide critical remarks.