TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Incoming migrant workers will no longer be required to undergo a seven-day quarantine in individual rooms after entering Taiwan.

The Ministry of Labor (MOL) said on Friday (March 17) the requirement that new or returning migrant workers quarantine upon arrival will no longer apply from March 20.

Paul Su (蘇裕國), the head of migrant worker cross-border management for MOL said that in addition to removing the isolation requirements, incoming migrant workers will no longer be required to vaccinate, per CNA. However, an MOL statement reminded employers to encourage workers to get vaccinated.

The labor ministry said the suspension of isolation requirements for migrant workers is in line with a general relaxation of pandemic control policies, but reminded migrant workers to abide by epidemic prevention requirements when taking public transport and entering medical facilities.

Migrant workers entering Taiwan before March 20 still need to isolate, but their employers can apply for a MOL subsidy of 50% of the accommodation costs.

Wu Jing-ru (吳靜如), a researcher from the Taiwan International Workers Association (TIWA) told Taiwan News that while the change is positive, migrant workers still had to endure four additional months of entry restrictions that other groups did not. She said this shows the government will only listen to blue-collar migrant workers if they protest.

“Whether this means government agencies and employers will stop using the pandemic as an excuse to trouble migrant workers, we'll just have to wait and see,” Wu said. “The government has taken the lead in this kind of discrimination for a long time, and that's why Taiwanese society is still very unfriendly to blue-collar migrant workers, no matter how many international conventions have been signed.”

In February, migrant laborers and advocacy groups protested the restrictions saying they were discriminatory, citing the need for Alien Residence Certificate (ARC) holding migrant workers to apply for a re-entry permit. Other ARC holders did not have to do so.

They also protested the high cost of the required isolation accommodation. During the protests, one migrant worker said the cost of isolation and the plane ticket to Taiwan amounted to two months of his basic salary (about NT$25,000 or US$820 per month).