Guidelines that better inform female migrant workers in Taiwan of their rights and those of their children are to be published, the Ministry of Labor said on Wednesday.
The guidelines are a compilation of existing government measures that fall under the jurisdiction of several agencies and cover needs that might arise during pregnancy, childbirth and child-rearing, the ministry said.
Workforce Development Agency Acting Director-General Chen Shih-chang (陳世昌) told a news conference that the guidelines would cover migrant workers’ occupational rights — for example, their employment contracts cannot be unilaterally altered when they are pregnant.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
There is also information on call centers that can be contacted if they have any questions about their pregnancy, as well as a reminder about the importance of contraception, Chen said.
The guidelines would be distributed at local women’s and children’s activity centers, and during house calls by social workers, as well as on the Line app and via the 1955 hotline that migrant workers can use to file complaints, Chen added.
The regulations would be translated into English, Indonesian, Vietnamese and Thai, Chen said, adding that a Chinese-language version would also be available for employers and labor brokers.
Asked whether the services outlined in the guidelines also apply to unaccounted-for migrant workers, Chen said the services do not differentiate.
However, asked whether the guidelines include any directives asking medical institutions not to report unaccounted-for migrant workers who seek medical attention, discouraging many from seeking necessary help, Chen said that the issue is still being discussed by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of the Interior.
Meanwhile, Su Yu-kuo (蘇裕國), head of the Cross-border Workforce Management Division, said the agency is also considering offering childbirth subsidies to foreign domestic helpers and caregivers to partially cover the expenses of raising their children in Taiwan or their home country.
Migrant domestic helpers and caregivers are not protected by the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) and thus are not entitled to childbirth subsidies, Su said, adding that this issue was recently raised by lawmakers at the legislature.
The workforce agency is discussing criteria for migrant workers to qualify for the subsidies with the health ministry, Su added.
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