ONE of the biggest food-and-beverage companies in Taiwan only hires Filipino workers, with the owner saying Filipino employees are adaptable, passionate and easy to work with.
I-Mei Foods Co. Ltd. is a well-known brand in Taiwan that concentrates on quality food products. For more than 70 years, it has been an active player in the food industry specializing in confectionaries and sweets, frozen and ready-to-eat meals, gift packs, dairy products and beverages.
The company is currently the supplier of McDonald’s breakfast muffins and ice cream, providing food products to international fast-food chains, such as Burger King, KFC, Mos Burger and A&W in Taiwan.
Sandra Chen, a public relations officer of I-Mei, said the company started accepting foreign workers since 1991. The policy of the Ministry of Labor under the Taiwan ROC government said a company can only hire 300 foreign workers at most.
I-Mei “used to hire Indonesians and Thais. However, there are some situations about religion, life habits, communication abilities and adaptation existing among employees from these two countries,” she said.
What makes Filipinos different from other international laborers, Chen said, is that “[they] are more passionate so they can get used to overseas job environment more easily.” Filipinos are English-proficient, which “can help the internal company training workable and effective in time.”
While some companies hire Filipinos only in low-rank jobs, I-Mei proudly said there are Filipino workers, who are managers of manufacturing lines, production-line technicians, professional quality-control personnel and engineers.
Since most of its overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) perform exceptionally well, many of them have stayed in Taiwan for nearly 12 years, which, in turn, make them longtime I-Mei employees.
Jack Lin, I-Mei associate director, told the BusinessMirror that I-Mei representatives visit the Philippines from time to time to select and hire potential workers, who are at least college-level undergraduates.
The BusinessMirror personally met two of its employees—Eugene Jerome Alaban from Isabela and Mark Anthony Alaban from Cagayan de Oro—machine operators with three-year contracts with I-Mei. They said they’re working like most OFWs do to earn money and give a better future to their families.
Given the continuous growth of I-Mei, Lin said international exchanges, particularly with the Philippines, are “welcome in any term of collaboration with its mission to “provide best-quality food products to customers in every corner of the world.”
Image credits: K.C. NiÑa Pusing