Taiwanese employers must allow Filipinos to take a day off to cast absentee ballots ahead of the May 9 Philippine presidential elections, the Ministry of Labor’s Workforce Development Agency said.
The Manila Economic and Cultural Office has established polls at its branch offices in Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung, the agency said in a statement on Wednesday.
As voting rights of guest workers are protected by Taiwan, employers must grant workers with Filipino citizenship one day off work to vote before the deadline for casting absentee ballots, it said.
As the ministry has published guidelines for the safe management of guest workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, the spread of the virus cannot be used as a reason to deny permission to travel, it said.
The agency called upon employers to help curb the outbreak by encouraging workers to get inoculated against COVID-19, use the social distancing app and wear a mask when they go to vote.
The health of migrant workers who travel to vote should be monitored upon their return, and they should be encouraged to use the ministry’s E-Line service to obtain information about keeping safe during the pandemic, it said.
As of March, the nation employed 139,619 Filipinos, most of whom are employed in manufacturing or caregiving, it said.
The latest version of the ministry’s COVID-19 guidelines for guest workers can be viewed on its Web site at www.wda.gov.tw.
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