Print

Mail

wiki links

Former employees of RCA appealing to lawmakers over cancer compensation

Still awaiting a response from the Council of Labor Affairs (勞委會) to petitions lodged earlier this month, former RCA workers and their supporters yesterday turned to lawmakers in a bid to seek amendment of regulations to make workers who lose breasts and reproductive organs eligible for disability allowances.

Many former RCA workers are female and 129 of them have died from cancer of the breast, womb and ovaries.

Activists believe that chemical pollution at RCA's Taoyuan plant, which closed in 1992, is responsible for their deaths and the ill-health of many other workers.

"Amendment of the law takes time, but it's the only option since lawmakers are more advanced than the council in sensing discrimination in the regulations governing disabled allowances for laborers," said Ku Yu-Ling (顧玉玲), secretary-general of the Taiwan Association for Victims of Occupational Accidents and Diseases (工作傷害受害人協會), which is supporting the former RCA workers. He was speaking at a press conference held by KMT lawmaker Ting Shou-chung (丁守中).

Ting promised to seek other lawmakers' approval to amend the regulations.

Male laborers who have lost their testicles are entitled to the disability allowance from the labor insurance system. But females who lose their reproductive organs are only eligible for such funds if they are below the age of 45 and were capable of bearing children before their ovaries or wombs were removed.

"But women over 45 nowadays are still able to bear children," the laborers argue.

Women who lose their breasts are not eligible for the allowances.

The workers petitioned the council twice earlier this month for "equal treatment without unreasonable restrictions," saying the operations which, they say, removed their female identity, have affected their mental conditions, family life and work.

The council gave no commitment. The petitions were presented to the council's chairwoman Chen chu (陳菊) and its labor insurance division.

The council has the power to include women who have had their breasts removed as being qualified for disability insurance coverage by means of an addendum to the regulations.

As to the lifting of restrictions against women without internal reproductive organs from receiving the disabled allowance, the council would have to propose an amendment of current law to the Executive Yuan, which would in turn have to seek legislators' support for it.

Su Tsong-yen (蘇宗延), a council official, said yesterday that the council was still discussing the petitioners' requests. "Most experts we have consulted have said that the removal of breasts does not influence a woman's life or ability to work," he said.
This story has been viewed 1798 times.