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.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated