Migrant worker rights activists and Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lin Shu-fen (林淑芬) yesterday called on the government to better protect the rights of foreign migrant workers injured at work, especially during the recovery period, as many are forced to return to work or face the threat of deportation before they fully recover.
“Last year, as many as 1,026 workers were reported to have suffered injuries at work and the majority of them were blue-collar workers, a large percentage foreign workers,” Lin told a press conference at the legislature in Taipei yesterday morning. “Although they should enjoy the same rights under the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) as local employees, they often suffer more.”
An Indonesian worker who wished to remain anonymous said he came to Taiwan in April 2011 and had an accident at work in March this year. So far, he has undergone six major operations, leaving only his thumb on his right hand intact.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
“My boss told me to go back to work only two months after the accident and threatened to deport me if I didn’t,” he said in Indonesian through an interpreter. “I said: ‘No,’ because I wasn’t fully recovered and I couldn’t work, but my boss then stopped paying me, saying that he wouldn’t pay because I refused to go back to work.”
After his three-year contract was up, his employer stopped his labor and national health insurance contributions, and refused to help pay his medical expenses.
“I really hope bosses in Taiwan can fulfill their responsibilities as employers,” he said.
Taiwan International Workers’ Association policy researcher Chen Su-hsiang (陳素香) said that while there are articles in Labor Standards Act regarding work injuries, foreign workers are often at a disadvantage because of the language barrier and because protection of their rights may be closely related to their residency status.
“For example, a foreign worker may lose legal residency in Taiwan once the work contract is terminated and therefore an employer may force a foreign worker to go back to work before they are fully recovered, threatening to terminate the work contract,” Chen said. “A foreign worker may also lose insurance coverage or be forced to cease treatment once the contract expires.”
Although foreign workers suffering from work injuries may legally extend their residency, the procedure is complicated and the application can be turned down if something goes wrong with the process, Chen added.
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