The Taiwan International Worker-Employment Relationship Harmony Development Association yesterday called for a special law on foreign domestic workers to protect their rights and those of their employers.
Members of the association and the Association of Spinal Cord Injury Taipei, as well as 10 people in wheelchairs, rallied at Taipei’s 228 Peace Memorial Park (228和平紀念公園) calling for the right to receive better care services and to be treated with respect and dignity.
Citing a case of a foreign domestic worker unexpectedly giving birth in her shocked employer’s home, Taiwan International Worker-Employment Relationship Harmony Development Association honorary adviser Chien Li-chen (簡莉珍) said that at-home caregivers often need to perform physically demanding work, which can be difficult if they are pregnant.
Photo: CNA
After asking a caregiver to demonstrate how she would help lift a man surnamed Lai (賴) — who has a damaged spine, is 1.87m tall and weighs 85kg — from his wheelchair, Chien said that the strenuous task is performed more than six times per day and would be difficult for a pregnant caregiver.
“The work foreign domestic workers perform is different from that of foreign factory workers. If a factory worker who operates machinery becomes pregnant, she can be temporarily assigned to do product quality control,” Chien said.
“However, a pregnant domestic worker cannot perform at-home caregiving tasks, even if she changes employer,” she added.
A specialized law is needed on foreign domestic workers, who should be required to take regular pregnancy tests, to protect the rights of hardworking caregivers and their employers, Chien said.
“We need stable care services, but must also protect the rights of caregivers, because we understand their hard work to take care of us,” Lai said. “However, we do not want the Ministry of Labor to ‘kill people’ for the sake of ‘protecting human rights.’”
He said that the ministry on Oct. 22 notified agencies associated with foreign domestic workers that employers cannot ask to replace a caregiver who has become pregnant, saying that doing so would be punishable by a fine of up to NT$1.5 million (US$49,159) and a two-year ban on hiring domestic workers.
“This is torture for us,” Lai said. “If they cannot perform care work after they become pregnant, or are taken to a shelter, then who will take care of us?”
The Regulations Governing Management of the Health Examination of Employed Aliens (外國人健康檢查管理辦法) stipulate that foreign workers are not required to take pregnancy tests.
Foreign domestic workers’ labor rights are also protected by the Gender Equality in Employment Act (性別工作平等法), which stipulates than an employer cannot discriminate or fire them due to their pregnancy.
POLITICAL AGENDA: Beijing’s cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival events are part of a ‘cultural united front’ aimed at promoting unification with Taiwan, academics said Local authorities in China have been inviting Taiwanese to participate in cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations centered around ideals of “family and nation,” a move Taiwanese academics said politicizes the holiday to promote the idea of “one family” across the Taiwan Strait. Sources said that China’s Fujian Provincial Government is organizing about 20 cross-strait-themed events in cities including Quanzhou, Nanping, Sanming and Zhangzhou. In Zhangzhou, a festival scheduled for Wednesday is to showcase Minnan-language songs and budaixi (布袋戲) glove puppetry to highlight cultural similarities between Taiwan and the region. Elsewhere, Jiangsu Province is hosting more than 10 similar celebrations in Taizhou, Changzhou, Suzhou,
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the
RSS