流離或扎根？高山農業失聯移工的在地關係

Migrating or Rooting? The Social Relationships of Undocumented Migrant Workers in Mountain Agriculture.

台灣農業長期面臨人力老化和缺工的問題，失聯移工是農業部門應對缺工問題的重要人力來源。在高山地區聚集了上千名從事農業的失聯移工，與當地農業的維繫形成密不可分的社會網絡關係。但我們對於這樣的社會網絡如何運作以及形成的社會關係所知甚少，這影響了我們對於台灣農村現有狀況以及失聯移工逃跑後實際生活的理解。本研究探討台灣高山農業中的失聯移工及其在地關係，聚焦於雇工機制及社會網絡，由此提出三個研究問題：（1）失聯移工與高山農業結合的時空背景及特殊性為何？（2）形成的雇工機制為何？（3）與在地發展出甚麼樣的社會關係？本研究採用多種方法，包括實地田野調查、深入訪談以及參與觀察失聯移工農業工班的勞動過程。研究結果發現，高山農業商品化的過程導致勞動力結構的改變，失聯移工在此背景下來到山區，作為替代性的農業人力，進而形成具有彈性的勞動力動員網絡。農村勞動特性所形成的社會網絡與高山擁有容忍非法性的地理特性，使得失聯移工得以扎根於當地社會。以上發現挑戰了傳統客工政策對待移工的邏輯，揭示移工不僅是勞動力，更是有實質社會生活的人。

Taiwan’s agricultural sector has long faced the challenges of an aging workforce and labor shortages. Undocumented workers have become a crucial labor source to address these shortages. Thousands of these workers are engaged in agriculture, forming inseparable social networks with local agricultural communities in the high mountainous regions. However, our understanding of how these social networks operate and the nature of the social relationships formed remains limited. This gap affects our comprehension of the current situation in Taiwan’s rural areas and the actual lives of undocumented workers post-escape. This study explores the undocumented workers in Taiwan’s high mountain agriculture and their local relationships, focusing on labor recruitment systems and social networks. It raises three research questions: (1) What are the temporal and spatial contexts and peculiarities of the integration of undocumented workers with high mountain agriculture? (2) What labor recruitment systems have been formed? (3) What kinds of social relationships have developed locally? This research employs multiple methods, including fieldwork, in-depth interviews, and participant observation of the labor processes of undocumented agricultural workers. The findings reveal that the commercialization of high mountain agriculture has led to changes in the labor force structure, with undocumented workers migrating to the mountainous regions within this context, serving as alternative agricultural labor and subsequently forming flexible labor mobilization networks. The social networks formed by rural labor characteristics and the high mountains’ geographical features that tolerate illegality allow undocumented workers to root themselves in the local community. These findings challenge the logic of traditional guest worker policies, revealing that migrant workers are not only a labor force but also individuals with substantial social lives.