A civic group on Tuesday called on the Ministry of Labor to abolish the monthly “employment stabilization” fee of NT$2,000 (US$61.47) collected from families who hire migrant at-home caregivers after a care recipient scores below a certain level on the Barthel Index.
The International Association of Family and Employers with Disabilities held a news conference in Taipei to raise awareness about the issue, which it characterized as being equivalent to levying a “handicap tax.”
The monthly fee is intended to fund “employment stabilization” measures when a family hires a migrant caregiver due to the potential negative impact such a move could have on the job opportunities of Taiwanese caregivers.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Labor
However, in reality, few, if any, Taiwanese work as live-in caregivers, association chief executive officer Tung Wen-hsun (童文薰) said.
Association president Heidi Chang (張姮燕) said that the employment stabilization fund has often been misappropriated to pay cash rewards to people who report absconded migrant workers to the authorities and to purchase flight tickets to deport such workers after they are found and detained.
In a statement, the association demanded that families with seriously ill members who score lower than a certain level on the Barthel Index, used to determine whether a person qualifies to be cared for by a migrant caregiver, should be exempted from paying the employment stabilization fee.
The ministry in October last year relaxed eligibility rules on recruiting live-in migrant caregivers and waived the requirement of a Barthel Index score for people who have been using long-term care services for at least six consecutive months, those diagnosed with early-stage dementia and people with certain disabilities, such as individuals who experience severe difficulty breathing or difficulty swallowing.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇), who attended the news conference, expressed support for the association’s demands and accused former minister of labor Hsu Ming-chun (許銘春) of misusing the fund.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Shu-fen (林淑芬) has accused Hsu of spending taxpayers’ money to hold a “concert” in Kaohsiung to mark the 20th anniversary of the promulgation of the Gender Equality in Employment Act (性別平等工作法), at which she sang for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, Taiwan People’s Party caucus whip Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said that Hsu spent NT$3.56 million from the employment stabilization fund on the event.
The association called on lawmakers across party lines to launch a probe into how the fund has been used.
Meanwhile, Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Tuesday visited the Work Development Agency’s northern branch in New Taipei City.
Hung became the minister on Monday after his predecessor, Ho Pei-shan (何佩珊), resigned over her handling of the suicide of a 39-year-old civil servant surnamed Wu (吳) at the regional office.
Hsieh Yi-jung (謝宜容), who headed the branch at the time of Wu’s death, was dismissed on Wednesday last week amid widespread speculation that Wu had been driven to suicide by workplace bullying.
After visiting the office, Hung said the work culture that existed under the former leadership had led to “low morale” and workers feeling unable to voice their concerns.
He vowed to improve the working environment at the ministry to “regain social trust and protect workers’ rights.”
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