TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A group of migrant workers and activists gathered on Monday (Feb. 20) outside Taiwan’s Executive Yuan to protest what they call discriminatory entry restrictions that apply only to them.
Migrant workers reported border reentry issues that do not affect white-collar migrant workers, students, and business visitors who hold an Alien Residence Permit (ARC), who can currently enter Taiwan under the “0+7” epidemic prevention scheme.
Most ARC holding migrant workers are still required to book seven days stay in a designated quarantine hotel, and those who are not must upload evidence of having a single room with a separate bathroom available for quarantine to a government website prior to entry. All migrant workers must also apply for a separate reentry permit.
Tommie, a migrant factory worker in Taoyuan from the Philippines, said that the cost of the quarantine hotel, fees, and plane ticket amounted to two months of his basic salary (about NT$25,000 or US$820 per month), which was unaffordable. He also said that he did not use his hotel for the full seven days, but was denied a refund because he had not purchased an additional insurance policy.
“I only used the hotel for two days, but my broker said I cannot refund the hotel payment…,” Tommie said. “(These) kind of rules (are the) broker taking advantage (of us) to earn more money from the migrant worker.”
In a statement released on Monday (Feb. 20), the Ministry of Labor said that restrictions on migrant workers were the same as Taiwan nationals or tourists entering the country from Southeast Asia.
Unnecessary hurdles to jump through
Wu Jing-ru (吳靜如), a researcher from the Taiwan International Workers Association (TIWA), said that this was not accurate, and that the process migrant workers and returning Taiwanese from Southeast Asia have to go through is fundamentally different.
“It is called a common process, but in detail, every step is different from the others’, like tourists or local people,” Wu said. She pointed to the fact that unlike others entering the country from the same regions, migrant workers have to first upload evidence of a suitable quarantine facility, and apply for reentry permits.
Despite home quarantine being an option, Wu says that most migrant workers do not have access to a single private room that has its own bathroom, and they still have to show evidence of where they will stay, regardless of the chosen option, something no other ARC holders have to do. “If family members come back from abroad, they do not have to do this, so why should there be this special kind of regulation and discrimination toward migrant workers,” Wu said.
Yvonne, also from the Philippines, is an elder care worker, and said she felt in practice the quarantine system is not effective for preventing the spread of COVID. She said that a swab test was all that was required to leave the quarantine hotel during the seven-day period, rendering the whole exercise pointless.
Yvonne said that both she and her employer spent a lot of time and money adhering to the government rules, and that it was not only discriminatory to her, but her employer too.
Wu said that while TIWA does help some migrant workers navigate these issues, the Mandarin language only government websites mean nearly all of migrant workers rely on their employers or brokers, who often charge high fees. The majority are not aware help is available, so they can not access it.
Wu does not think the government has any plans to change these regulations any time soon. “Since they put out this press release saying that its all the same (for incoming tourists and migrant workers,) I don’t think they plan to,” she said.
The Ministry of Labor statement said that between October 2022 and February, over 100,000 migrant workers had entered the country, returning to pre-pandemic levels.