Migrant workers and their supporters are protesting in Taipei over the state of workplace safety protections.
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00:00A group of mostly Indonesian migrant workers stands in formation outside the Labor Ministry
00:10singing a 90s protest anthem they hope will echo through the walls.
00:15It's Sunday, the only day most have off all week, but they've gathered from across Taiwan
00:19to make a point.
00:26Hundreds of thousands of migrant workers like these keep Taiwan running, especially its
00:30industries.
00:32But for many like Anas, now in his 11th year in Taiwan, long hours and physically demanding
00:37conditions take a serious toll.
00:40Over a decade of moving heavy metal molds without machinery to help has left him in
00:45constant pain with spinal injuries that eventually needed surgery.
00:50All his employer offered was some folk treatment and a week off.
00:54And when that wasn't enough, he was soon out of a job.
01:18His story isn't unique, these protesters say, and there are more testimonials of workplace
01:23injuries and care denied.
01:26In the case of Sutar, who also suffered spinal damage, it was a question of who qualifies
01:31for support.
01:49And when Muchsin suffered a severe leg injury on the job, the agency that placed him made
01:53sure it was not their problem.
01:56Muchsin still struggles to walk after more than 80 rounds of treatment supported by an
02:01NGO.
02:02The NGOs gathered in solidarity, from labor rights
02:24groups to religious organizations, say these kinds of injuries are preventable, or they
02:29would be if the government was more careful about enforcing rules.
02:33They say that in contrast to well-policed corporations, the government lets standards
02:38slide when it comes to the small and medium-sized companies that hire the bulk of Taiwan's migrant
02:43labor.
02:44These include rules about safety training and the use of proper safety measures.
03:10The protesters have three demands.
03:12One, more proactive checks and guidance for smaller companies.
03:16Two, more transparent inspections, in which whistleblowers can have lawyers present to
03:21make sure there's no fraud.
03:23And three, a special meeting of labor ministry officials to help solve the workplace safety
03:27problems migrant workers face.
03:30Zhu Wen-yong, director of the Occupational Safety Division, says there is a system in
03:35place for catching inspection fraud.
03:38Protesters have fined nearly 1,000 companies in the past three years, even shutting down
03:42work at nearly 200 of them.
03:44He says there's a whistleblower hotline with multilingual service, too.
03:48When it comes to protesters' demands, though, there is no firm commitment.
04:11And the workers here are left unsure of how close they are to getting the protections
04:15they believe they deserve.
04:28Andy Hsieh and John Ventriest for Taiwan Plus.