Understanding Indicators of Forced Labor and Financial Insecurity through the Giant Manufacturing Co. Case
March, 18, 2026
Commentary by Dr Bonny Ling:
On Forced Labour Indicators Dealing with Financial Insecurity
If we look at the five indicators of forced labour in the US CBP statement on the WRO against Giant, there are particularly three that are closely linked because they deal with aspects of financial security of the worker. Sometimes i use the expression, 神聖三位 of financial insecurity for the migrant worker because these indicators often come together because they deal with money.
Money in how much a migrant worker pays to get the job in Taiwan. Money when a migrant worker does not get paid regularly. And then money when excessive overtime is involved. You see one indicator, look deeper and often you see the other two. When one of these below comes up in a worker’s story, I am probably the other two indicators are also involved. And then when I find all three, I say to myself, Bingo! I knew it!
- Debt bondage 抵債
- Withholding of wages 扣留工資
- Excessive overtime 過多加班
The other two are factors that reflect the power asymmetry in the employment relationship:
- Abuse of vulnerability 濫用弱勢地位
- Abusive working and living conditions 惡劣的工作和生活條件
But the line between these two here and the three on financial insecurity is not a straight, clear line. These indicators weave together like a web. They interact with each other, and this is the part that is both easy and hard to understand about forced labour.
The ILO 11 indicators of forced labour sounds like a checklist, but it is more like clues to guide us in our understanding of very bad employment conditions. Each country is different, and forced labour happens everywhere. The local context is really important to understand both the problem and think of solutions.
This is my slide from a talk I gave in May 2022. I described an employment situation in Taiwanese manufacturing. The yellow indicators may be easier to find. The blue indicators of abuse of vulnerability and deception may be less visible, but if we think about it – the yellow indicators could not have happened if not enabled by the workers’ vulnerable positions and perhaps maybe also deception concerning the actual employment involved in Taiwan.
從巨大案瞭解強迫勞動指標與財務不安全
2026年3月18日
評論; 淩怡華博士
從最近勞權爭議的巨大機械（Giant）開始討論強迫勞動與財務不安全，會讓人更好理解。
2025年九月底，台灣品牌「捷安特」製造廠巨大機械（Giant）美國海關暨邊境保護局（CBP）以「強迫勞動」為由，禁止並扣押在台灣製造的自行車及零組件。
從這次美國海關和邊境保護局（CBP）針對巨大機械發布的暫扣令（WRO）包含了五項強迫勞動指標，其中有三項，我想特別提出來說明，因為它們彼此關係特別緊密，且都涉及工人的經濟安全。在英文的脈絡底下，我時常會使用「三位一體（holy trinity）」這個說法來形容這個移工所面臨的經濟不安全處境，因為這三個指標不僅經常一起出現，它們也都跟「錢」息息相關。
錢，可以說是跨國工作的最基本的原動力，也是所有移工最在乎的事情。但在這初步理解下，錢其實還涵蓋了：「隱藏成本」（移工為了獲取台灣工作機會需要支付的「預支費用」、「財務保障」（移工能否定期穩定領取工資）、「生活品質」（移工是否常態性的承擔過長工時）。這三個指標彼此之間的關聯性之高，簡直是形影不離。這在我探尋移工故事的過程中不斷得到印證，只要發現其中一項指標符合，另外兩個幾乎也牽涉其中，少有例外。
這三項指標分別為：
- 抵債勞務（Debt Bondage）
- 扣發薪資（Withholding of wages）
- 超時加班（Excessive overtime）
與這三項指標密切關聯的，還有另外兩項反映僱傭關係中權力不對等的指標：
- 濫用弱勢處境（Abuse of vulnerability）
- 苛刻的工作及生活條件（Abusive working and living conditions）
但這些指標彼此之間並非壁壘分明──它們像一張錯綜複雜的網，彼此交織。這個複雜性正是為什麼強迫勞動總是難以直觀理解和分析的原因。
國際勞工組織（ILO）的現行11項強迫勞動指標聽起來像一份檢核清單，但其實更像是引導我們理解「極惡劣僱傭條件」的線索。我們可以這麼理解，每個國家的情況不同，但強迫勞動無所不在。定義的界線或許有所不同，但原則並無二致。因此當我們尋求解決方案時，理解問題本質和在地脈絡真的非常重要。
這是我在2022年五月演講中使用的投影片。我描述了台灣製造業的僱傭情況。投影片中的黃色指標指的是「較容易被發現」的強迫勞動事證（包涵：「限制行動」、「孤立」、「性暴力」等等），藍色則是較不明顯的、所謂「濫用弱勢地位」和「欺騙」指標。但如果我們仔細想想──如果不是因為移工的相對弱勢地位，以及台灣實際僱傭狀況的欺騙手段，黃色指標幾乎不可能發生。也就是說，台灣目前外國勞動力市場的脈絡，實際上比我們想的相對脆弱。