migrant workers in Taiwan

COVID Insurance Required for Migrant Workers in New Regulations

Brian Hioe
A new requirement that took effect starting on December 1st requires migrant workers to have COVID-19 insurance before they will be allowed to enter Taiwan, which will be paid for by their employer. As with other inbound travelers, migrant workers will be required to quarantine for fourteen days after entry. But while, in theory, this should insure migrant workers so that they have coverage in the event that they have COVID-19 when they enter Taiwan, the possibility remains that employers will try to pass the costs onto migrant workers...
December 2021EnglishLaborSocial Movements5 min read

Party Arrests in Taoyuan Point to Larger Issues Facing Migrant Workers During COVID-19

Brian Hioe
Police cracked down on a party at a Vietnamese restaurant in Taoyuan on Sunday, finding that 102 migrant workers were gathered on the premises. While four of the individuals present were restaurant workers, 98 were customers—most of which were migrant workers. Police found the party while conducting door-to-door inspections, patrolling on the search for runaway migrant workers...
EnglishLaborRaceSeptember 2021Social Movements5 min read

Indonesian Sailors Unable to Return Home for Over a Year Points to Larger Issue During COVID

Brian Hioe
105 Indonesian sailors returned home by plane after close to half a year of being stranded at sea on August 21st. The sailors were unable to enter Taiwan because of border restrictions that prevent merchant vessels registered to a different country from docking in Taiwan, only allowing ships owned by Taiwanese nationals and registered to Taiwan to dock. Likewise, maritime conventions dictate that it is the responsibility of the owner of a vessel, the nation to which the vessel is registered, and the nation to which the sailors come from to provide for repatriations...
August 2021EnglishLaborSocial Movements6 min read

Advocates Criticize New Plan to Regulate Employment Transfers for Migrant Workers

Brian Hioe
Migrant worker groups have criticized a new plan by the Ministry of Labor to require migrant workers transferring jobs to go through employment agencies run by the government. Likewise, jobs transfers will give greater priority to workers that remain in their occupational category, rather than workers trying to change between different forms of employment, and take the form of a three-way agreement between the former employer, the new employer, and the agency...
August 2021EnglishLaborSocial Movements5 min read