Discrimination During COVID-19
receive short-term care, as well as impacts on the protection of undocumented
migrant workers’ health rights and even a sudden increase in the number of
undocumented migrant workers in Taiwan, as explained below:
7. The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced a nationwide
level-3 alert to prevent non-essential outings and impose restrictions on
group gatherings following cluster infections in migrant workers’ dormitories
during COVID-19. Some local governments issued county-wide restrictions that
prohibited migrant workers from leaving their dormitories except to go to and
from work. The NHRC notes that migrant workers were not the only ones in the
workplace to be infected with COVID, but the ban did not apply to domestic
employees or the general public, resulting in discriminatory treatment. An
investigation report forwarded by the Control Yuan to the Commission also
showed that:
(1) The Miaoli County Government issued a stay-at-home order to all migrant
workers, including those with no history of exposure to infectious disease,
restricting their personal freedom and causing employers to follow suit, and
forcing migrant workers to be grounded and sign pledges, to name a few of
problematic measures.
(2) During COVID-19, foreign worker employment guidelines in response to
COVID-19 were introduced to prevent cluster infections and pandemic
spread among migrant workers. As employers and agents were unable
to respond to the situation in a timely manner, and preventive visits to
dormitories were simply a formality, cluster infections were unavoidable
in the group accommodations. Nevertheless, employers and agents
prohibited migrant workers from going out and forced them to return to
the dormitories for centralized management, while no restrictions were
imposed on local employees working in the same factory, a practice which
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