Groups urge MOL not to overlook migrant workers in anti-bullying rules rollout

Taipei, June 29 (CNA) Advocacy groups on Monday urged the Ministry of Labor (MOL) to ensure migrant workers are not overlooked in the rollout of Taiwan's new workplace bullying prevention rules, which are set to take effect on Wednesday.

Groups including the Taiwan Association for Human Rights (TAHR) held a press conference in Taipei to express support for the new rules, but said the government must also ensure that outreach, training and complaint channels are accessible to migrant workers.

The new provisions, introduced under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, require employers to establish workplace bullying prevention and complaint-handling mechanisms.

The rules also define workplace bullying as repeated "inappropriate words or behaviors" by personnel of the same business entity who abuse "their positions or powers" and act "beyond the necessary and reasonable business scope," causing a worker physical or mental harm.

"Workplace bullying against migrant workers is already widespread and happens every day," TAHR senior researcher Shih Yi-hsiang (施逸翔) told CNA after the press conference.

"However, because of their vulnerable position and their need to keep their jobs, many migrant workers have long chosen to endure such treatment in silence, or are afraid to file complaints," he said.

MOL last Tuesday released a workplace bullying prevention guidance manual, FAQs and educational materials, all of which are currently available only in Chinese.

Asked whether the materials would be made available in other languages for foreign workers in Taiwan, including more than 800,000 workers from Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand, MOL said at the time it would study the feasibility of providing multilingual versions.

After the new rules take effect on Wednesday, the question will first be how many migrant workers know about them, and then whether those who do know will feel able to file complaints, Shih said.

"Migrant workers have long been placed toward the back of the line when it comes to policy implementation and labor protections," Shih said, adding that rights groups observed the same problem during the COVID-19 pandemic.

When migrant workers encounter workplace problems or possible labor rights violations, MOL's response has often been to tell them to call the 1955 migrant worker hotline, Shih said.

However, Shih noted that this raises the question of whether 1955 hotline operators have received training on workplace bullying, adding that they would not be able to properly assist migrant workers with such cases without that training.

"The government should not prioritize local workers while neglecting migrant workers," Shih said.

In response to the groups' concerns, the MOL said later Monday that English translations of provisions related to workplace bullying are already available, and that the 1955 hotline is ready to provide consultations on the new rules for employers, workers and foreign nationals working in Taiwan.

The ministry added that it would strengthen outreach through multiple channels, including by providing an English translation of the workplace bullying prevention guidelines, as well as informational cards in English, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Thai and Tagalog.