The Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) is considering loosened restrictions for families hiring foreign caretakes for their homes. If the legislation passes, families with two people older than 80 could qualify to hire foreign workers.
Hiring foreign caretakers has become increasingly popular in recent years because of their relatively low cost. Foreign home-care workers can cost as little as one-half to one-third the salary of Taiwanese. However, not all families are legally qualified to hire foreign caretakers.
The current method for evaluating whether a family qualifies to hire foreign help is based on how many members of the family live in the same residence qualify as needing extra care, such as young children or the elderly.
Those needing medical assistance may apply to hire foreign caregivers based on the Barthel Index, a list of items that measure a person’s ability to perform day-to-day activities, such as eating at a normal rate of about one bite every 10 seconds. One of the main differences between qualifying to hire foreign home workers and foreign caregivers is that the latter require medical certificates.
Recently, council officials began considering a proposed amendment to the Employment Service Act (就業服務法) that would loosen restrictions governing which households may qualify to hiring foreign help.
For example, the score given to elderly people over 80 years old could be more heavily weighted, so that applicant households with two immediate family members older than 80 could be eligible to apply for foreign help.
Another example would state that if a household has one family member over 90 years of age and another under one year old, it would be allowed to hire foreign help.
The council said that if the legislation passes, the number of foreign home workers in the country would double from the current 2,300 to about 5,000.
Although council officials say the plan would meet the nation’s increasing need for care for the elderly, some labor group representatives remain cautious.
Son Yu-lian (孫友聯), secretary-general of the Taiwan Labour Front, said the plan was worth discussing, but called on the council to hold public hearings
“The Council of Labor Affairs should obtain some public consensus before jumping into policymaking,” he said.
RSS