Citing concerns over worker rights and long-term government policy, lawmakers yesterday failed to reach a consensus on a controversial revision that would allow foreign caregivers to spend more time in Taiwan.
The debate began after C.V. Chen (陳長文), the head of Taiwan’s Red Cross Society and a former senior government official, launched a public appeal last week to extend a license for his son’s caregiver. Chen said his son suffers from severe disabilities and requires fulltime care.
Currently, the Employment Service Act (就業服務法) prohibits foreign caregivers residing in Taiwan to work for more than nine years. Chen said he wanted to see this extended to 12 years, suggesting that this would provide for more consistent care and cut down on retraining fees.
Lawmakers from both parties said after a screening session that this move, which has already passed a preliminary committee review, would likely contradict a long-term policy aimed at reducing the amount of foreign caregivers and replacing them with family-based support.
“Even without foreign caregivers, I believe that we can give the same amount of care to our children with severe [disabilities],” said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Chiech-ju (陳節如), who countered that her 36-year-old son also had special needs, but was taken care of by family members.
Noting that there were hundreds of thousands of families around the country facing similar challenges, she said that it was important that Taiwan move towards developing a set of long-term care standards that would not be completely reliant on increasing the numbers of foreign caregivers.
There are currently more than 170,000 foreign caregivers working throughout the nation out of a total number of 374,000 migrant workers, despite efforts to stem the increase, according to statistics from the Council of Labor Affairs. A recent report from the Control Yuan revealed that 33,000 of these foreign workers are currently unaccounted for.
Job opportunities in Taiwan for domestic help would be adversely affected if the employment of foreign caregivers was extended three more years, said Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ho Tsai-feng (侯彩鳳), citing numbers that show more than 600,000 Taiwanese still out of work.
As the result of yesterday’s breakdown in talks, it is unlikely that the proposed amendment will clear the legislative floor before the legislature goes into recess next Wednesday.
Both parties have, however, shied away from rejecting the proposal outright, with KMT caucus whip Lin Yi-shih (林益世) saying that the majority of his caucus members still leaned in favor and would look for another time to review the proposed changes.
DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) also agreed that more discussion was needed.
There are concerns among DPP lawmakers that an extension would be detrimental to working conditions for the foreign caregivers, who could be pressured by their employers to remain in Taiwan for the full 12 years, if the amendment passed.
“We have to look at the fairness and health of these [caregivers] ... and how leaving their homes for 12 years could adversely affect them,” Chen Chiech-ju said. “We don’t have any plans for dealing with these [potential issues].”
The council, which oversees applications to hire foreign labor, has said that it does not oppose the amendment — maintaining that domestic job opportunities would not be affected — although labor groups and an organization representing the disabled have both spoken out against it.
Alliance for the Disabled secretary-general Wang Yu-ling (王幼玲), appearing at the same press conference with Chen Chiech-ju, suggested continued reliance on foreign caregivers would add to the impression that only they are able to take care of people with severe disabilities.
“It was a mistake from the start,” she said. “It has resulted in families today only being able to choose between foreign caregivers. The government [should] try and promote a better long-term care system.”
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
RSS