CORONAVIRUS/Migrant worker employers warned against charging for quarantine

Taipei, Nov. 25 (CNA) Employers of migrant workers face a maximum fine of NT$300,000 (US$10,529) if they fail to cover the cost of the 14-day compulsory quarantine their employees are required to undergo when entering Taiwan, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) said Wednesday.

It is the responsibility of employers to take care of the migrant workers they hire, which includes making arrangements for them to undergo two weeks of quarantine at a quarantine hotel or a location they arrange, MOL's Workforce Development Agency (WDA) said in a press statement.

Employers can also ask employment agencies to take care of the matter of quarantine on their behalf, it added.

Citing the Regulations on the Permission and Administration of the Employment of Foreign Workers, the WDA said employers who ask migrant workers to pay for the compulsory quarantine face a fine of NT$60,000 to NT$ 300,000 and will have their hiring permit revoked.

Meanwhile, if an employment agency asks migrant workers to pay for the compulsory quarantine, it will be fined and have its operations suspended for up to a year, in accordance with the Employment Service Act, it added.

The WDA said it made the latest statement after receiving a rising number of complaints/inquiries from migrant workers who said their employers or employment agencies asked them to pay for quarantine.

The WDA called on migrant workers who encounter such situations to call the MOL, local government or dial 1955 to report to the authorities.

Currently, all migrant workers coming from the Philippines and Indonesia to Taiwan, migrant workers hired by the local social welfare sector, such as caregivers, as well as those re-entering the country, are required to undergo 14-days of quarantine at government-designated sites to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, migrant workers newly-hired by local industries have to undergo quarantine for two weeks at their residence in Taiwan as arranged by their employers.