TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — I-Mei Foods recently completed its third overseas recruitment of workers in the Philippines, visiting Central Luzon for the first time for the direct hiring of foreign workers.

Directly recruiting and training overseas workers allows I-Mei to bypass intermediaries or brokers which come with high fees. I-Mei’s actions were lauded by foreign worker groups and local government officials, and were even reported by international media such as the BBC.

I-Mei made visits in 2017 and in 2018. A subsequent follow-up recruitment was delayed due to COVID, with I-Mei eventually making the trip back to the country this month.

I-Mei Foods CEO Luis Ko (高志明) said he was inspired to make the trip because of high broker fees applied to Filipino workers who went to work in Taiwan.

With Phillipines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. strengthening of benefits for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) and programs to reduce urban and rural income disparity, I-Mei’s direct employment team visited a new location, Pampanga, about an hour's drive from Manila.

I-Mei representatives met with Pampanga Governor Dennis "Delta" Garcia Pineda and Pampanga Deputy Governor Lilia Paule Garcia Pineda together with several provincial councilors who hosted a sumptuous lunch and welcoming meal for the I-Mei delegation on Tuesday (April 25).

Philippines Department of Migrant Workers Pre-Employment Services Assistant Secretary Director Levinson Alcantara also made the trip from Manila for this reception.

Attending the meeting by teleconference was Taiwan’s Manila Economic and Cultural Office Labor Center Director Cesar Chavez Jr., and Philippines Bureau of the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Jerlinda Cruz, who guaranteed labor rights and listened to Filipino employees at I-Mei’s Taoyuan factory to share their stories about working abroad and sending money back home.

I-Mei explained it worked with local Filipino governments to recruit overseas workers and directly handle the application process for working in Taiwan. Such direct employment avoids costly broker fees altogether, with I-Mei able to offer better employment conditions. A few former employees even attended the direct employment fair to apply for yet another foreign deployment.

I-Mei Foods already employs hundreds of Filipino employees at its factories and truly appreciates the high quality of their work and was eager to offer this opportunity to those in Pampanga Province, Central Luzon. The province covers 2,000 square kilometers and has a population of 2.43 million, accounting for nearly 2.3% of the total population of the Philippines.

There are two major cities in the territory: San Fernando and Angeles City, the latter being once the largest US military base outside the United States. The former Clark Air Force Base of the US Air Force has been transformed into Clark International Airport.

In March this year, EVA Air launched a new non-stop route from Taipei to Clark International Airport. The non-stop flight only takes two hours to complete.

*I-Mei is the parent company of Taiwan News.