Migrant groups urge government to improve occupational safety

Taipei, Jan. 5 (CNA) A coalition of migrant rights groups rallied outside the Ministry of Labor (MOL) on Sunday to urge the government to address systemic issues ingrained in manufacturing sectors prone to occupational accidents.

Many migrant workers undertake "4D" jobs -- dangerous, difficult, dirty, and demeaning -- at hardware, plastics, or rubber manufacturers that Taiwanese workers are reluctant to do, said migrant rights advocate Kevin Zhang (張郁) at the rally.

Rather than resorting to machines, some employers in these sectors make migrant workers carry heavy loads, causing damage to their muscles and bones, said Zhang, a member of the Taiwan International Workers' Association (TIWA), one of the protesting groups.

That has led to a disproportionate number of migrant workers suffering occupational accidents, the groups said.

In a joint statement, the groups cited data released by the MOL in 2019 that showed 0.489 percent of migrant workers becoming disabled as a result of occupational accidents, around 350 percent higher than the 0.14 percent of their Taiwanese counterparts suffering the same fate.

The situation is likely even more dire at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with fewer than 50 employees because they are not required by law to submit records of occupational accidents to labor inspection agencies, the groups said.

In many of the unreported cases, migrant workers do not receive any compensation from their employers, the groups said.

They demanded that the MOL launch ad-hoc labor inspections at SMEs that employ a high percentage of migrant workers and publish inspection results to avoid any undue manipulation.

They also insisted that migrants be allowed to appoint representatives to observe labor inspections, and that ad-hoc meetings be convened to discuss solutions to occupational hazards facing migrant workers.

One case typifying the potential problems faced by migrants at local factories was that of Anas, an Indonesian worker who was employed in a medium-sized enterprise for 11 years starting in 2012.

Anas said he often had to manually move molds weighing 20 to 80 kilograms without the help of any machinery during his time on the job, and eventually developed a serious "waist" issue that caused him insufferable pain when he was walking, standing, and even lying down.

He finally sought medical attention in March 2024 and was diagnosed with nerve compression syndrome and a spinal displacement, compelling him to undergo bone grafting surgery.

Reluctant to acknowledge that Anas' injury was caused by his work, his former employer refused to cover his medical bills, did not compensate him, and fired him without paying him severance, Anas said.

The worker said his case is now in arbitration at the local government level in a bid to get severance and compensation, but he was not optimistic due to what he said was "the (Taiwan) government's indifference toward his case and lack of protection of his rights."

In response to the appeals of the rights groups, Chu Wen-yung (朱文勇), director of the MOL's Occupational Safety and Health Administration, said the MOL has been conducting ad-hoc labor inspections at the premises of high-risk and occupational accident-prone companies.

The MOL conducted 22,764 such inspections between 2022 and 2024, ordered work to be suspended 186 times, and imposed 983 fines totaling NT$69.52 million (US$2.11 million), Chu said, though he did not provide information on getting compensation for injured workers.

Chu said ensuring migrant workers' participation in labor inspections would have to be discussed in greater depth, citing the need of some companies to protect commercial secrets.

The MOL regularly convenes meetings attended by heads of central and local labor inspection agencies at which measures to ensure the occupational safety of migrant workers are reviewed and improved if necessary, Chu said.