The government is formulating guidelines to protect the rights of pregnant migrant workers, Minister of Labor Hsu Ming-chun (許銘春) said on Wednesday, amid news that the infant child of a undocumented migrant worker might have died from the norovirus on Friday last week.
The guidelines are being drawn up by the Ministry of Labor’s Workforce Development Agency and are to cover the rights of pregnant migrant workers and their employers, Hsu told reporters on the sidelines of a legislative hearing.
The deceased child was the six-month-old son of two undocumented Indonesian migrant workers. The baby was taken to a clinic and seen by a doctor after being placed in a nonprofit shelter in Taipei where he developed diarrhea, local media reports said.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
The boy’s condition worsened rapidly thereafter and he died shortly after returning to the shelter, media reported.
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office is investigating the incident to determine whether any party should be held legally liable for the child’s death.
Issues relating to the children of absconded migrant workers potentially involve the children of non-Taiwanese nationalities born to migrant workers who are illegally staying in Taiwan, Hsu said.
As these children require medical assistance, settlement, vaccination and other resources, taking care of them falls under different agencies, but is streamlined by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Hsu said.
The labor ministry is in charge of the placement of the undocumented children of migrant workers, while the Ministry of the Interior is responsible for determining the nationality of such children and providing them and their parents with shelter, and the health ministry ensures they receive any necessary medical assistance and vaccinations, Hsu said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wang Yu-min (王育敏) said during the legislative hearing that the government should introduce a rule to “pardon” undocumented migrant workers with children, to allow their children to receive medical attention without the parents having to worry about being deported, just as undocumented migrant workers were allowed to receive COVID-19 vaccinations during the pandemic without being reported to the authorities.
Wang also asked the health ministry to tender a motion during an upcoming Cabinet meeting suggesting the establishment of a permanent body to identify the undocumented children of migrant workers.
Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Lee Li-feng (李麗芬) said that task is currently handled by an adhoc body headed by two ministers without portfolio and involves several Cabinet-level agencies.
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