Migrant worker advocacy groups on Friday urged that rules on recruiting migrant workers and procedures to protect their rights be tightened in the wake of a case in which an Indonesian live-in caregiver was sexually assaulted by her employer.
A loophole in the rules made is possible for the employer, a convicted fugitive, to hire the Indonesian caregiver and abuse her for almost 10 months, Serve the People Association member Hsiao Yi-cai (蕭以采) said at a news conference.
Although the man, a Keelung resident, was convicted of sexually assaulting a Taiwanese woman, he was still able to hire a migrant caregiver for an elderly family member, because he had not been indicted or convicted of sexually assaulting a migrant worker in his employ, Hsiao said.
Photo: CNA
The man had fled after being handed a guilty verdict and jail sentence in the third and final trial of the case, she added.
The association and the other groups said the Ministry of Labor (MOL) and Ministry of the Interior should work together to enhance information sharing to identify and restrict the eligibility of people found guilty of infringing upon the personal freedom of others to hire migrant workers.
That should be the case whether the victim was a migrant worker, Taiwanese or any other nationality, they said.
Under the Employment Service Act (就業服務法), people convicted or indicted for sexual assault, sexual harassment or assault against migrant workers in the two years preceding the date of an application are barred from hiring migrant workers.
The ministry was considering proposing an amendment extending the ban on people convicted of sexual crimes to five years and prohibiting recidivists from hiring migrant workers, MOL Cross-Border Workforce Management Division head Su Yu-kuo (蘇裕國) said.
However, the groups said that the restriction should also apply to people who commit similar acts against Taiwanese.
At the news conference, the Indonesian caregiver said there was no one who required care at the suspect’s home and that she had instead been used as a maid and forced into sexual servitude, adding that she was also not paid during the time she was there.
She said the man hit her with an electric cable and sprayed an unknown medicine on her wounds, causing them to fester.
Although the man did not seize her mobile phone, he kept close tabs on her, limited her outside contact by frequently checking her mobile phone and took her along whenever he had to leave his home, Hsiao said.
The caregiver was finally able to contact the association for help when she was left at home alone in late June due to an illness, she said.
Keelung City’s Department of Social Affairs never visited the caregiver at her workplace to check her work environment, which contravenes the Regulations on the Permission and Administration of the Employment of Foreign Workers (雇主聘僱外國人許可及管理辦法), the non-governmental organizations said.
Any negligent department personnel should be held accountable and punished, they added.
The MOL has launched a program to visit migrants working for employers who were found guilty or accused of sexual assault against migrant workers they previously hired, Su said, adding that they had uncovered two cases requiring attention among more than 100 visits conducted last year.
Migrant caregivers are the most vulnerable to sexual assault among all types of migrant workers due to their insulated working environment, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lin Shu-fen (林淑芬) said.
Of the 1,363 reports of sexual assault against migrant workers filed between 2007 and last year, about 73 percent involved migrant caregivers, Lin said, citing Ministry of Health and Welfare data.
TRAFFIC SAFETY RULES: A positive result in a drug test would result in a two-year license suspension for the driver and vehicle, and a fine of up to NT$180,000 The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to authorize police to conduct roadside saliva tests by the end of the year to deter people from driving while under the influence of narcotics, it said yesterday. The ministry last month unveiled a draft of amended regulations governing traffic safety rules and penalties, which included provisions empowering police to conduct mandatory saliva tests on drivers. While currently rules authorize police to use oral fluid testing kits for signs of drug use, they do not establish penalties for noncompliance or operating procedures for officers to follow, the ministry said. The proposed changes to the regulations require
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung and Taoyuan would issue a decision at 8pm on whether to cancel work and school tomorrow due to forecasted heavy rain, Keelung Mayor Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) said today. Hsieh told reporters that absent some pressing reason, the four northern cities would announce the decision jointly at 8pm. Keelung is expected to receive between 300mm and 490mm of rain in the period from 2pm today through 2pm tomorrow, Central Weather Administration data showed. Keelung City Government regulations stipulate that school and work can be canceled if rain totals in mountainous or low-elevation areas are forecast to exceed 350mm in
China Airlines Ltd (CAL) yesterday morning joined SkyTeam’s Aviation Challenge for the fourth time, operating a demonstration flight for “net zero carbon emissions” from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Bangkok. The flight used sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at a ratio of up to 40 percent, the highest proportion CAL has achieved to date, the nation’s largest carrier said. Since April, SAF has become available to Taiwanese international carriers at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), Kaohsiung International Airport and Taoyuan airport. In previous challenges, CAL operated “net zero carbon emission flights” to Singapore and Japan. At a ceremony at Taoyuan airport, China Airlines chief sustainability
RSS