1. Introduction
Many studies show that, compared to their local counterparts, migrant workers face greater
challenges in adapting to their overall living environments, in addition to higher risks of occupational accidents and injuries. A French study [1] stated that the nature of tasks and employment (e.g., short-term or part-time employment) makes severe occupational risks more likely for migrant workers. As mentioned in the same study, thirty percent of the workers in France are non-French,an excessively large percentage of migrant workers in France were accident victims, and industrial accidents caused more than thirty percent of lifelong disabilities of workers nationwide. Spanish survey results indicate the country’s 2004 incidence rate of occupational accidents was 53% for all workers and 73% for migrant workers on temporary contracts. Regarding the occupational distribution of workers, under-qualification accounted for 31% of 2004 Spanish occupational accidents involving migrant workers, a group often assigned dangerous tasks, and 20% of total accidents [1]. Based on the above statistics, some scholars [2] have pointed out the alarming risks and accidents facing a majority of migrant workers, who perform the most dangerous, unhealthy, and unskilled tasks. The jobs of those who lack language skills or are underprivileged are even riskier, according to research [3]. Some reports have concluded that migrant workers have a greater chance of suffering from hearing and musculoskeletal disorders, perhaps because of their lack of professional competencies. As a rule, migrant workers are unlikely to be assigned knowledge-oriented tasks, and most of them are engaged in manual labor instead. With little occupational training, they are almost always forced to work jobs in noisy environments that require sheer physical strength. These jobs explain why appropriate and accessible occupational medical services are critical for the health of migrant workers [4]. Article 7 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights [5] says:
“The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of just and favorable conditions of work which ensure, in particular . . . fair wages and equal remuneration for work of equal value without distinction of any kind, in particular women being guaranteed conditions of work not inferior to those enjoyed by men, with equal pay for equal work . . . safe and healthy working conditions . . . rest, leisure and reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay, as well as remuneration for public holidays.”
Efforts are needed to ensure that all laborers, regardless of nationality, are employed in environments with job equality, safety, and health. Blue-collar foreign workers, among others, often leave their families behind for jobs to which they must accustom themselves, mentally and/or physically. In totally unfamiliar living environments, cultural and geographical differences become sources of stress and indirect causes of occupational safety problems, which is why occupational safety and health (OSH) risks facing blue-collar foreign workers deserve extra attention from governments worldwide and also from the businesses that hire such workers. Most blue-collar foreign workers in Taiwan are recruited through manpower recruitment and placement service providers (hereinafter referred to as “manpower agencies”). Blue-collar foreign workers unfamiliar with the Taiwanese language, and businesses that hire these workers, rely on these manpower agencies for labor management and translation services.
In Taiwan, the number of blue-collar workers has reached 551,596 workers on 31 December 2014.
Laborers’ OSH education/training is an integral part of efforts to reduce occupational accidents and also an issue of pressing urgency. Taiwan’s Occupational Safety and Health Act [6] requires that employers offer employees OSH education and training programs as required by the employees’
specific tasks and for disaster prevention purposes. In other words, laborers are supposed to receive OSH training and learn to safely perform their tasks while preventing disasters.
The primary purpose of this study is to clarify the role, and identify the flaws, of manpower
agencies in OSH education/training and hazard prevention efforts targeting blue-collar foreign
workers, and present recommendations for all parties involved in those efforts, in particular the manpower agencies and the businesses that hire blue-collar foreign workers. This study also discusses ways to improve the implementation of governmental policies.