The Ministry of Labor yesterday expressed its misgivings about a lawmaker’s proposal to impose a “wealth cap” that would ban affluent households from employing foreign caregivers, saying it raises concerns about differential treatment and would be difficult to implement.
During a meeting of the legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee on Monday, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Chieh-ju (陳節如) said that wealthy families should be able to afford the services of Taiwanese caregivers.
She proposed that the ministry conduct an evaluation and consider introducing legislation that would prohibit rich households from hiring foreign caregivers.
The committee voted in favor of Chen’s motion, demanding that the ministry complete its evaluation within a month.
While foreign caregivers typically earn a monthly wage of NT$15,840, Taiwanese caregivers usually charge about NT$60,000 per month for around-the-clock personal care for elderly or disabled patients.
The issue has drawn wide public attention after several members of a group who toured a restricted military base with Apache helicopters last month were suspected of illegally employing more than one foreign caregiver.
Controversy over the tour escalated after investigators revealed that several foreign nationals were included in the tour group, including at least four caregivers.
The tour raised concerns about abuse of privilege, as its members included showbiz personality Janet Lee (李蒨蓉) as well as several businesspeople, leading media commentators to brand the group a “socialite’s club.”
Seven Taiwanese in the group are under investigation, after being suspected of illegally employing foreign caregivers through dubious channels and assigning work to caregivers outside of their original contract, such as childcare or household chores.
Chen said the Apache controversy showed a tendency among the “privileged rich” to misuse the services of foreign caregivers.
Workforce Development Agency Director Lai Jia-jen (賴家仁) yesterday said the ministry would conduct an evaluation as requested, but the proposal raises several issues that are difficult to resolve.
A wealth cap might raise concerns about “differential treatment” in applying for foreign caregivers, he said.
“We must consider if [the proposal] is in accordance with fairness and justice,” he said.
He added that the ministry might encounter difficulties in implementing the measure, such as whether the measurement of wealth should be based on personal income or household income.
“In terms of implementation, the proposal would be extremely difficult,” Lai said.
“It would be very easy to evade the measure” even if it were implemented,” he said.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
RSS