Babysitters' union formed

To protect the rights of baby-sitters, a women-only union -- The Professional Union for Taipei City Community Services Providers (台北市社區 務?H-?噸~?u會) -- has been established.

The union currently has 430 members, with 300 of them licensed as babysitters and 130 as after-school caretakers.

The union will offer labor and health insurance to its members. In addition, the union will provide an accident insurance (意外3d任險) program.

Recently, several manslaughter cases involving babysitters have made headlines around the country. The cases involved alleged negligence or child abuse, according to police reports.

Commenting on such accidents, Ku Chiang-shue (古|??, director of the Taipei Kindergartner Association (台北?保母協會), said such incidents had hurt the babysitting business. However, most of those involved in the cases were not licensed babysitters, she said.

According to Yao Pao-chen (姚寶珍), a union member and currently a babysitter, a governmental licensing system for babysitters was implemented in 1987, but there are only 10,000 legally licensed babysitters nationwide. In the babysitting business in Taipei, she said, over half of all service providers are unlicensed.

Yao said that most families still hold traditional ideas towards babysitting, letting neighbors or relatives take care of their young children.

Moreover, Yao said, people increasingly hire foreign domestic helpers -- often from the Philippines -- to help with babysitting chores.

According to Ku and Yao, monthly fees for day-care babysitting are around NT$15,000.