Guidelines released by the Ministry of Labor to better inform female migrant workers who are pregnant or have young children about their rights in Taiwan have drawn mixed responses from civic groups.
The guidelines, released on Tuesday, bring together information scattered across the jurisdictions of several government agencies that female migrant workers can refer to when they become pregnant.
For example, one regulation states that they can reach a mutual agreement to dissolve their contract with their employer after they become pregnant and they are entitled to a 60-day leeway period to rest after childbirth before they have to start looking for a new employer.
Photo: Li Ya-wen, Taipei Times
The document is available in Chinese, English, Indonesian, Vietnamese and Thai.
The guidelines drew criticism from the International Association of Family and Employers with Disabilities, which described them as “intentionally playing up the importance of migrant workers’ families” and “neglecting the mission of their jobs.”
The primary goal for migrant workers who have come to Taiwan should be to work, not to have children, the association said in a statement on Wednesday.
The ministry should immediately rescind the guidelines, which put the rights of women and children before the needs of families that recruit live-in caregivers, infringing upon their welfare, it said.
In response, the ministry said that migrant workers have the same rights as Taiwanese workers to decide whether to have children and, like their Taiwanese counterparts, are protected by the Gender Equality in Employment Act (性別平等工作法), which governs maternity leave and other applicable laws.
Crucially, the guidelines also point employers of migrant live-in caregivers to short-term and respite care services, which they can use if their caregiver becomes pregnant, the ministry said.
The guidelines do not undermine the rights of people who hire migrant workers, it said, adding that it would discuss with the Ministry of Health and Welfare how to improve existing supplementary care services to better address the needs of people should their caregiver become pregnant.
Serikat Buruh Industri Perawatan Taiwan, a union made up of Indonesian caregivers working for Taiwanese families and in nursing homes, said it respected the association’s opinion and acknowledged that pregnant caregivers could put care recipients and themselves in danger if they continue to work.
However, the Gender Equality in Employment Act and international anti-discrimination conventions have been enshrined into local law to prohibit the dismissal of pregnant workers, the union said on Thursday.
Despite those efforts, sexual discrimination still exists, the union said.
If certain groups disregard the rights of migrant workers to become pregnant and flout international conventions, their suitability to hire such workers should be questioned, and they risk tarnishing the image of their nation, it said.
Lee Kai-li (李凱莉), a director in charge of migrant affairs at the Garden of Hope Foundation, commended the labor ministry for publishing the guidelines, which she said conveniently bring together the majority of regulations regarding migrant workers.
However, she said there is a major omission — the document neglects to mention the legal liability of employers should they break the regulations.
Noting that many employers who illegally fire pregnant migrant workers have gone unpunished after paying severance, Lee said she hoped that the guidelines would serve as a reminder to the authorities that the law must be enforced.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
RSS