A Study on the Losses of Labor Insurance Claims in Fatal Occupational Accidents of Immigrant Workers in Industries

A Study on the Losses of Labor Insurance Claims in Fatal Occupational Accidents of Immigrant Workers in Industries

This study analyzed the labor insurance compensation records filing from 2005 to 2014 to compare the differences between the occupational mortality victims on both the local workers and immigrant workers, and explored the characteristics of thepayment, including the amount of compensation and the number of days taken to receive the pays. In addition, the study conducted anindepth interview to get an insight of the determinants leading to the differences in claoms and propose feasible solutions for future policies. The results showed that the occupational mortalities rates per thousand workers are much higher for immigrant workers than those of local workers, with the ratios within the range of 1.6 to 2.4. From the occurrence of the occupational accidents, local workers will receive compensation after 68.5 days on average, fluctuating between 55-85 days whereas the immigrant workers will receive their compensation after 120 days on average before 2010. The mean age of victims of occupational mortalities for immigrant workers is 32.82, instead of the mean age for local workers is 43.22. Moreover, immigrant workers in industries received on average a total of NT$ 590 thousand as compensation while local workers are entitled to NT$1,030 thousand, respectively. The main reason for the difference of claims es is because that immigrant workers need documents issued from their native countries and the documents are subject to costly certification and translation processes. This will take up to 4-6 months of administrative processing time and the prosedures mustbe conducted by recurriting agencies or external departments. This study suggested that Ministry of labors could use the Employment Security Fund to provide an additional subsidy at least to 1.5 million NT$ to cover the losses based on the finding of the study. In addition, the laws may be amended to streamline the applications for compensation in the event of fatal occupational accidents, as well as ensuring educational training for comprehensive labor rights. Also, labor protection cards may be provided to both the immigrant workers and their families to serve as a communication channel in case of accidents occurred. At last, the authors proposes that Ministry of labors should establish an obligatory support system to provide legal assistance to immigrant workers and assist them in claiming beneficial compensations to fulfill the spirit of National Treatment Convention.