Migrant Workers Protest Government Prejudice 邊境雖解封 NGO控政府對移工歧視性管制

Migrant worker groups are protesting the Taiwanese government's discriminatory treatment of blue-collar migrant workers, saying they are subject to reentry requirements different than all other resident certificate holders. Some of the requirements include online registration at least three days prior to arrival and a mandatory eight-day stay at quarantine hotels.

Workers demonstrate outside the Executive Yuan. After Taiwan lifted border restrictions, blue-collar migrant workers that went home to see their families found it extremely difficult to return to Taiwan.

Yvette, Blue-collar Migrant Worker: “I get shocked. My name is not registered to the name list who can enter in Taiwan. I ask the ticketing board, what happened? They told me that I didn't register a quarantine hotel back here. So, I was not able to get my ticket back to Taiwan.”

Tommie, Blue-collar Migrant Worker: “Actually, I was like up for sale, until -- and like, I was up for sale. If no one signed (for us) from the airport, we cannot go out.”

Migrant workers say they are subjected to countless restrictions ranging from mandatory online registration at least three days before arrival to not being allowed to leave the airport unless their employer picks them up and signs for them. Taiwan is even confining migrant workers to quarantine hotels for eight days upon arrival.

Liu Hsiao-ying, Spokesperson, Taiwan Int'l Workers' Association: “We hope the government can stop treating blue-collar migrant workers like second-class citizens. They should be treated like white-collar migrant workers, foreign students and immigrants and allowed to come and go as they please while their resident certificates are valid. Their rights should be respected.”

Migrant workers have two main requests: for the Taiwanese government to stop its discriminatory treatment and for their resident certificates to be honored. In theory, there are no restrictions on how often resident certificate holders can enter and leave Taiwan but blue-collar migrant workers are being forced to reapply for entry every time they leave.

Su Yu-kuo, Workforce Development Director, Ministry of Labor Affairs: “To prevent them from coming into contact with people with severe symptoms or people that are at high risk, we require them to live at their employer's residence or in employee dormitories. If they come in and they stay at (a quarantine hotel), we have so-called subsidies for that.”

The Workforce Development Agency says anyone entering Taiwan, whether they are tourists or migrant workers, must have a valid visa or multiple-entry permit and follow the "0+7" protocol.

聚集行政院外抗議，隨著台灣邊境解封，藍領移工們趁休假返鄉探親，但他們萬萬想不到，再次回台卻是步步艱辛。

移工Yveth指出：「當時我被告知我的名字，沒有登記在台灣的入境名單上，我問售票處他們告訴我，因為我沒有登記防疫旅館，所以我無法拿到回台灣的機票。」

移工Tommie表示：「事實上，如果沒有人從機場簽收，我們就不能出去。」

不滿政府仍舊以防疫為名，對藍領移工設下重重限制，不只在入境前3天，要先上網做登記；落地後還得在機場，等到雇主簽收完，才可以離開，甚至還要求移工們，返台必須住8天旅館。

台灣移工聯盟發言人劉曉櫻表示：「我們希望藍領移工可以比照，白領移工、留學生、移民，享有在居留證有效期間，可以不限次重入國的權利。」

提出兩大訴求，呼籲政府取消歧視性規定，並廢除施行多年的重入國制度，讓移工們在居留證有效期間，可以無限次出入台灣，不再額外申請。

勞動部勞發署組長蘇裕國表示：「為了避免接觸重症高風險的對象，我們會要求說，他要住在雇主的自宅，或者是員工宿舍，那如果他進來，有住在（旅館）這地方，我們會有所謂的補助住宿的費用。」

勞發署澄清，無論是外國旅客或移工，只要從國外入境，需要分別持有「有效入國簽證」或「重入國許可」；至於，防疫措施都適用「自主防疫0+7」，並沒有不同。