A number of social welfare groups called yesterday for legislation to help protect the interests of foreign housemaids and caregivers working in Taiwan, following the tragic death of National Policy Advisor to the President Liu Hsia (劉俠), who died of injuries allegedly inflicted by her Indonesian caregiver.
The Taiwan International Labor Association, the Chinese Islamic Association and two Catholic panels issued the call, along with a declaration at a joint conference in which they urged the government to enact a "housework service act" to cover housemaids and caregivers, regardless of nationality, who are not protected under the terms of the Employment Service Act.
The government should provide legal protection for both Taiwanese and foreigners employed as maids and caregivers for elderly, disabled and chronically sick people, they said, suggesting that working hours and labor conditions should be clearly stipulated in such a law to prevent conflict between employees and their employers.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
Lorna Kung (龔尤倩), an official at the Taiwan International Labor Association, said Liu's death has shocked the public and claimed that both employers and foreign housemaids often fall victim to Taiwan's legal system.
As a result of lax social welfare policy, local families have to look after old or seriously ill family members without government assistance, which has led to the need for foreign caregivers and housekeepers, Kung pointed out, adding that a lack of adequate legislation to protect foreign housemaids and caregivers has further worsened the situation.
"There is no clear definition of housekeepers and caregivers' duties, working hours, and salaries. We hope that the government can set up clear regulations to define these issues," she said.
She strongly urged the government to implement a "housework services act" and a "caregiver service law" (家事服務法) to give clear definitions of the terms of employment for such jobs.
The wheelchair-bound Liu, a well-known writer and long-time activist for the disabled, passed away Feb. 8 after being attacked by her caregiver. She was 61.
The caregiver has since been diagnosed as suffering from a mental disorder.
The caregiver has claimed that she was never given time off from her job because of the difficulty Liu had in finding a temporary replacement. The overwork and resulting stress might be responsible fir the caregiver's mental condition.
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
An Emirates flight from Dubai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday afternoon, the first service of the airline since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday. Flight EK366 took off from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 3:51am yesterday and landed at 4:02pm before taxiing to the airport’s D6 gate at Terminal 2 at 4:08pm, data from the airport and FlightAware, a global flight tracking site, showed. Of the 501 passengers on the flight, 275 were Taiwanese, including 96 group tour travelers, the data showed. Tourism Administration Deputy Director-General Huang He-ting (黃荷婷) greeted Taiwanese passengers at the airport and
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
RSS