Legislators criticized the “long-term care insurance” plan yesterday, saying that the wage difference between domestic and foreign caregivers would cause domestic workers to lose their jobs.
The Executive Yuan had said that it commissioned the Council of Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) to draw up a comprehensive proposal to set up an insurance program for long-term care for senior citizens by the end of this year.
About 10 percent of the population is aged 65 or above, but that number will increase to 22 percent in 10 years, said Yang Chih-liang (楊志良), vice president of the Taichung Healthcare and Management University and a participant in drafting the proposal.
At the legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee meeting yesterday, lawmakers questioned officials from the CEPD, Ministry of the Interior, Department of Health and Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) about the insurance program.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Chiech-ju (陳節如) expressed strong opposition to allowing foreign workers to participate in the program.
“At times of such high unemployment, the government should ban foreign workers [from the program] and help domestic workers find jobs,” she said.
DPP Legislator Huang Sue-ying (黃淑英) urged government officials to evaluate the plan based on its impact on female workers. Because long-term caregivers are usually women, if the program became institutionalized or profit-oriented, the working conditions of female caregivers could be adversely affected, she said.
CEPD Chairman Chen Tain-jy (陳添枝) said, “[The system] will not leave out domestic workers. Every [worker] will have to be certified and equally skilled, but because domestic workers can speak [Chinese], people will be more willing to use domestic laborers.”
EXCUSES: Beijing is using government and research vessels as a pretext to harass the nation and enter its EEZ, and engage in ‘hegemonic expansion,’ the coast guard said The Coast Guard Administration yesterday said it drove away Chinese oceanographic research vessel Xiang Yang Hong 22 (向陽紅33) from restricted waters after warning it that it was in Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The Chinese vessel entered restricted waters off the coast of Yilan County’s Suao (蘇澳) at 11:35pm on Thursday, the coast guard said, adding that it dispatched the Lanyu patrol vessel and the boat PP-10077 to shadow the Chinese ship and issue radio warnings ordering it to leave. China has no sovereignty over waters off Taiwan’s east coast, Lanyu’s crew told Xiang Yang Hong 22 over the radio, and demanded
Tropical Storm Mekkhala is forecast to strengthen into a typhoon tomorrow and could come close enough to Taiwan later in the week to prompt a sea warning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2 pm, the storm was located 1,870 kilometers southeast of Taiwan's southern tip and moving west- northwest at 23 km per hour. CWA forecaster Cheng Chieh-jen (鄭傑仁) said Mekkhala is expected to continue moving west-northwest through Tuesday under the influence of the Pacific high- pressure system before gradually turning north toward waters east of Taiwan or south of the Ryukyu Islands. The timing and angle of the
Four Taiwanese universities have been ranked among the world's top 200 institutions in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings for next year, the highest Taiwan has ever placed in the category, with National Taiwan University (NTU) achieving its best performance at 54th globally and 17th in Asia. The four Taiwanese institutions in the global top 200 are NTU (54th), National Tsing Hua University (142nd), National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (177th) and National Cheng Kung University (191st), the rankings showed. All four universities achieved their highest-ever global rankings this year, QS data showed. National Cheng Kung University entered the top 200 for
RISING POPULARITY: Enhanced flight connectivity and a visa waiver trial program are among the motivations that have boosted travel to Taiwan by Filipinos, the agency said The Tourism Administration said yesterday that it is stepping up efforts to attract tourists from the Philippines following strong growth during the first quarter. The agency’s data showed the nation welcomed 210,000 Filipino visitors from January to March, marking a 43 percent increase compared with the same period last year. The Philippines is Taiwan’s top source of inbound tourists among the Southeast Asian nations, data showed. With a population of 116 million and national median age of 26, the Philippines boasts a young demographic with strong travel potential, the Tourism Administration said. Outbound travel demand in the Philippines continues to rise amid robust
RSS