Migrant workers in Taiwan are calling for easier access to old-age benefits, which many of them are ineligible to receive until after they've already left the country. They're now working with NGOs and government officials to come up with solutions.
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00:00Domestic worker Gilda Banugan is used to taking care of others, and now she's fighting to
00:05make sure she can take care of herself.
00:08Originally from the Philippines, Banugan has been living and working in Taiwan for over
00:12a decade.
00:13At 40, she's far from retiring, but she has less than two years left before she has to
00:18leave the country.
00:19Under Taiwanese law, migrant workers can't stay and work here for longer than 12 years.
00:24We work so hard.
00:26We work 24-7, especially caretakers.
00:29We try our best that we really can help the family also.
00:33But after all, after more than 10 years, decades of work, then we will go back home in the
00:41future, but there's nothing that we can have.
00:45Banugan says she would have felt better had she qualified for the old-age benefits available
00:49to migrant workers, payments that those insured in Taiwan can receive once they hit 60.
00:54Under the Labor Insurance Act, people employed in Taiwan for 15 years are eligible for
00:59old-age pensions.
01:00Those who work less than 15 years, which is most migrant workers, qualify for a one-time
01:05lump-sum benefit.
01:07But another law, called the Employment Services Act, limits blue-collar migrant workers in
01:11the country from being employed over 12 years.
01:14And ultimately, this all depends on whether their employer enrolls them in labor insurance
01:18in the first place.
01:20At this recent NGO-backed public hearing, one migrant worker broke down in tears as
01:24she described her fears of living without old-age benefits.
01:27I left the Philippines healthy and without any feelings, but after a few years, I was
01:35diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and chronic headache.
01:41It was so painful, I felt like I was far away from my family, but when will I be released?
01:50Representatives here from the Labor Ministry shared their own difficulties in getting benefits
01:55to migrant workers.
01:56It's because when they come to work here in Taiwan, our main policy is to give them
02:03a blue-collar benefit.
02:04When they come to work here, we ask them why they need to get a blue-collar benefit.
02:08But when they meet the requirements, it's very difficult for them to get a blue-collar
02:13benefit.
02:14So the relevant information is actually a bit complicated.
02:18But labor rights advocates say the Labor Ministry has a responsibility to take care of migrant
02:23workers and close these loopholes.
02:25Not to mention that Taiwan's employers have a responsibility to take care of Taiwanese
02:30workers.
02:31So why should a foreign worker or a Filipino or Indonesian worker not have to take responsibility
02:37for their employers?
02:38I think this is clearly a policy discrimination and unfairness.
02:42Labor insurance representatives said changing the policy will take time, but migrant workers
02:46won't just be waiting around.
02:48They intend to continue to speak out and call for change, taking care of themselves and
02:52each other, if no one else will.
02:54Chris Ma, Gino Lopez and Tiffany Wong in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.