Childcare advocacy groups today called for guidelines to improve wages and dismiss nannies, saying a lack of clear regulations has led to a decline in the number of carers and quality of childcare.
Childcare workers have seen minimal wage increases over the past 10 years, Childcare Policy Alliance spokesperson Huang Chiao-ling (黃喬齡) told a news conference.
Local governments must establish childcare committees to set fees based on local price indices and household incomes, Huang said.
Photo: CNA
However, these guidelines do not specify how often childcare fees are to be reviewed and consider too few factors, causing wages to remain stagnant, she said.
The central government leaves it up to local committees to independently negotiate, research and review childcare fees, leading to regional wage discrepancies, she added.
Nannies across Taiwan’s 22 administrative regions perform the same labor, but receive different salaries under 22 separate systems, Huang said.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare should instead set clear guidelines for adjusting childcare fees and the frequency of wage increases, she said.
Furthermore, the current system only allows for nannies to be dismissed in instances of severe child abuse, sexual abuse and other cases of gross misconduct, said Lee Ting-hsin (李庭欣), head of the Peng Wan-ru Foundation’s in-home childcare research team.
This means that nannies may repeatedly commit minor infractions without penalty, she said.
The system should instead use the same framework as the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例) and establish a points-based penalty system to penalize or dismiss nannies who repeatedly breach regulations, she said.
The system would clearly outline nannies’ past performance, allowing parents to choose suitable childcare providers, she added.
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