TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Labor’s guidelines on migrant workers who become pregnant have been criticized by an association representing employers.
The labor ministry published the guidelines in response to migrant worker and advocacy groups having concerns about women being fired for becoming pregnant. About 6,000 migrant workers in Taiwan become pregnant every year, many of whom are pressured to resign by employers and brokers.
The ministry compiled existing rules and resources to inform pregnant workers or those with young children of their rights in Taiwan. The Guidelines to Protect the Rights of Female Foreign Workers and Their Children has been translated into five languages: Chinese, English, Bahasa Indonesia, Vietnamese, and Thai.
Migrant workers are protected under the Gender Equality in Employment Act, which prohibits discrimination due to pregnancy. Another rule states that after migrant workers become pregnant, they can mutually dissolve their contract with their employers and get a 60-day rest period after giving birth before finding a new employer.
The International Association of Family and Employers with Disabilities, however, criticized the regulations on Wednesday, saying migrant workers’ primary focus in Taiwan should be work, not having children. It said the ministry should revoke the guidelines, which harm families that hire caregivers by putting the rights of women and children first, per CNA.
The ministry responded that the guidelines do not undermine the rights of those who hire migrant caregivers. It pointed out that migrant workers have the same rights as Taiwanese workers in deciding whether to have children.
It added the guidelines point families to short-term caregiving and respite care services if their primary caregiver becomes pregnant. MOL said it would work with the Ministry of Health and Welfare to improve these supplementary care services.