The US on Thursday recognized Taiwan’s progress in improving migrant workers’ rights to attend religious services, as it released its annual Report on International Religious Freedom.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told a news conference that Taiwan, as well as Morocco, Iraq and East Timor, made notable progress in this area.
“In Taiwan, authorities are making it easier to report employers who refuse to give their workers a weekly rest day in order to attend religious services,” Blinken said.
Photo: AFP
The reported cited Taiwan’s Ministry of Labor as saying that foreign caregivers and household workers whose employers denied them a weekly day of rest to attend religious services could report this to the ministry.
Taiwan’s common labor standards do not cover domestic service workers and caregivers, limiting their ability to attend religious services, the report said.
Echoing last year’s report, it said that the problem was particularly widespread among Taiwan’s approximately 237,000 foreign caregivers and household workers, who are predominately from Indonesia and the Philippines.
Many of them are Muslims or Catholics wanting to attend weekly religious services, it said.
The ministry had called on employers to abide by labor contracts, some of which require employers to allow for a weekly day off, the report said.
The report cited Taiwanese authorities as saying that they view domestic service workers’ inability to attend religious services as part of a broader labor issue, which is addressed by cross-ministry efforts.
The labor ministry has since December 2020 coordinated with the Ministry of Health and Welfare to expand the eligibility of subsidized respite care services to Taiwanese families, it said.
Respite care provides short-term relief for primary caregivers, enabling more migrant caregivers to take leave to attend religious services or conduct other activities without risking their jobs.
Labor ministry data showed that employers utilized 96,000 respite care days in the first six months of last year, compared with 84,000 days in the whole of 2020 and 24,000 in 2019.
However, the report also cited religious leaders in Taiwan as saying that there was still a lack of significant progress on the issue.
They would continue to urge the government to take more action, as well as seek support from employers, the report cited them as saying.
The report also cited Ambassador at Large for Religious Freedom Pusin Tali as saying that Taiwan’s failure to safeguard migrant workers’ rights, including guaranteeing their ability to attend weekly religious services, might affect the nation’s relations with the migrant workers’ countries of origin.
The report, issued by the US Department of State since 1998, offers an evidence-based review of religious freedom in nearly 200 countries and territories.
Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s (陳奕迅) concerts in Kaohsiung this weekend have been postponed after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 this morning, the organizer said today. Chan’s “FEAR and DREAMS” concert which was scheduled to be held in the coming three days at the Kaohsiung Arena would be rescheduled to May 29, 30 and 31, while the three shows scheduled over the next weekend, from May 23 to 25, would be held as usual, Universal Music said in a statement. Ticket holders can apply for a full refund or attend the postponed concerts with the same seating, the organizer said. Refund arrangements would
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS