Blue-collar migrant workers injured while working are eligible for a Ministry of Labor legal assistance program for occupational accident victims that includes interpretation services throughout the process, the ministry said yesterday.
The confirmation came as the ministry is scheduled to expand the program from Jan. 1 next year, to provide legal representation during criminal trials in occupational accident cases, extending existing assistance beyond the investigation stage.
The program provides legal consultations, lawyers to accompany workers during settlement and mediation proceedings and litigation assistance to occupational accident victims, including migrant workers, the ministry said in a statement.
Photo: CNA
For migrant workers, “interpretation services are provided throughout the process,” it said.
The ministry said it has also instructed local government personnel dedicated to occupational accident cases to assess the needs of the migrant workers they assist and connect them with lawyers where necessary.
The statement came after the Central News Agency on Tuesday questioned Department of Labor Relations Director-General Wang Hou-wei (王厚偉) at a news briefing about migrant workers’ eligibility for the program and the availability of interpretation services.
Wang said at the time that the assistance covers migrant workers, including live-in caregivers and domestic helpers who are not covered by the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法).
Interpretation services are particularly important for migrant workers, who “definitely need this kind of assistance; otherwise, they would have difficulty asserting many of their rights,” he said.
The program’s expansion to cover criminal trials from Jan. 1 is intended to “fill a gap” in the system by extending lawyers’ assistance beyond the investigation stage, said Legal Aid Foundation CEO Steven Chou (周漢 威), who also spoke at Tuesday’s briefing.
“We believe there should also be a lawyer alongside [the worker] during the trial,” said Chou, whose foundation works with the ministry on the program.
Lawyers can help identify witnesses and other evidence, particularly because the prosecutor handling the case at trial might not be the same one who conducted the investigation and might be less familiar with the case, he said.
Lawyers can also explain to the court the impact of an accident on workers and their families, including physical disabilities and psychological trauma, when judges consider sentencing, Chou said.
They can also advise workers and their families during settlement negotiations and help them seek reasonable compensation from their employers, he added.
The program includes assistance with legal fees, up to NT $100,000 per case for necessary expenses such as application fees, as well as living-expense assistance for eligible workers involved in litigation, information provided by the ministry showed.
Lawyers assigned through the foundation to handle occupational accident cases under the program are paid NT$20,000 for representing complainants during criminal investigations and NT$30,000 during trial proceedings, Chou said.
The foundation had 4,889 legal aid lawyers last year, and about 61 percent had practiced law for more than 11 years, Chou said.
Taiwan had 895,115 blue-collar migrant workers as of late June, ministry data showed.