TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — I-Mei Foods continued an overseas recruitment campaign for foreign workers on Thursday (April 27) in Davao City, Philippines, with a meeting with the Taiwanese community in the city held a day earlier.
In 1993, I-Mei Foods employed the first group of Filipino workers (50 individuals), and has continued to maintain close relations with the Philippines for steady and dependable labor. I-Mei also engages in direct hiring to gain closer interaction with workers and avoid broker fees and other intermediaries.
I-Mei contacted the Philippine government on the issue of direct hiring of foreign workers in November 2017, coordinating with then Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. At the time, his administration was interested in promoting the rights and interests of Filipino employees, and closing the gap between worker incomes in urban and rural areas.
I-Mei visited Davao City where Duterte had served as a multi-term mayor, engaging in direct recruitment of local talent starting in 2018.
Davao City is the third largest city in the country, located in the eastern part of Mindanao Island in the southern Philippines. It is an important port and trade center in the region with a young, well educated demographic.
Over the past 30 years, Filipino employees have become an important source of labor and strength for the company. As I-Mei is approaching its 90th anniversary, it continues to deepen friendship, exchanges, and cooperation between Taiwan and the Philippines.
I-Mei Foods Direct Hiring Representative Jack Cheng and OCAC member Wang Shou-qing. (Taiwan News photo)
On Wednesday (April 26) evening, the overseas Taiwanese community in Davao City warmly welcomed I-Mei’s employee recruitment group, and attended a banquet at the Grand Men Seng Hotel. Several leaders of the local overseas Chinese community also shared their tales of hard work and survival in Davao City for generations.
The I-Mei recruitment fair attracted many potential employees that were encouraged to attend by friends and family who previously worked with I-Mei in Tawan through similar recruitment drives. This led to many applicants hoping to pass the rigorous interview process and join the I-Mei family.
*I-Mei is the parent company of Taiwan News.
