The Control Yuan issued a “corrective measure” against the Miaoli County Government on Thursday for a stay-at-home order issued last June targeting migrant workers amid a spike in local COVID-19 cases, saying that the order constituted discrimination and human rights violation.
The contentious policy, imposed by the county government from June 7-28, 2021, lacked legal basis and was in serious violation of human rights, the government’s watchdog said in a press statement on the same day.
The “corrective measure” was issued on the grounds that the county government should not have “taken the lead in stigmatizing migrant workers” and rolled out “discriminatory measures,” the statement said.
The Miaoli County Government issued the stay-at-home order on June 7, 2021 that prohibited all migrant workers in the county from going outside, except for commuting to and from work, after three local electronic companies reported COVID-19 clusters.
The order, however, did not apply to Taiwanese factory workers even though the clusters at the electronic companies also involved Taiwanese employees.
According to the Central Epidemic Command Center’s (CECC) protocols at that time, only those who had just arrived in Taiwan from abroad or who had close contact with confirmed cases were required to quarantine at home or at a designated facility.
In defending his policy, Miaoli Magistrate Hsu Yao-chang (???) said on June 7 he had no choice but to issue the order, which he hoped could curb the spread of COVID-19.
The Control Yuan said in its statement that the county government had “repeatedly misinterpreted laws and regulations” to justify its policy, while paying little regard to concerns expressed by the central government and human right groups.
At the same time, the watchdog also criticized the Ministry of Labor (MOL) and the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) for their lack of action and failure to intervene in this issue.
According to the statement, the MOL did not speak up against banning migrant workers from going out until the stay-at-home order in Miaoli had been lifted.
The Control Yuan on Thursday also issued a separate “corrective measure” against the MOL for not providing adequate and timely COVID-related information to migrant workers.
The MOL has not come up with an effective approach to directly communicate with migrant workers, the Control Yuan statement said.
Instead, the ministry has relied on employers or labor brokers to pass on the latest COVID-19 information, including vaccine rollouts, the statement said, adding that this may have hindered some migrant workers from getting vaccinated in time and caused the disease to spread in the community.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel