The Ministry of Labor plans to allow families of critically ill people to hire migrant workers from other employment categories to increase the supply of caregivers, a ministry official said yesterday.
The measure is to be introduced to avoid possible negative effects on such families after the launch of a new policy that waives Barthel Index evaluations for Taiwanese aged 80 or older who want to hire live-in foreign caregivers.
The Legislative Yuan last year passed an amendment to the Employment Service Act (就業服務法), allowing people aged 80 or older to hire live-in foreign caregivers without undergoing health evaluations based on the Barthel Index — a clinical scale used to assess a person's ability to perform daily activities.
Photo: CNA
The exemption also applies to households with members aged 70 to 79 who have been diagnosed with Stage 2 cancer or above.
The amendment was promulgated, but while the changes are expected to benefit an additional 100,000 households by enabling them to apply for caregivers, it might affect the families of critically ill people — those who are bed-ridden and have ailments or diseases such as dementia.
The concern is that caregivers could choose to take care of people who do not have a critical illness.
With that in mind, the ministry is drafting accompanying measures that are expected to be implemented by the end of this month, said Su Yu-kuo (蘇裕國), a division chief at the ministry's Workforce Development Agency.
To expand the pool of available caregivers, the labor ministry would allow families of people with critical conditions to hire migrant workers from across different job categories, Su said, adding that the existing rule requires job transfers to be within the same employment category.
Workers from the manufacturing, agricultural or construction sectors who wish to switch to live-in caregiving would first have to complete 20 hours of supplementary training — either in person or online, Su said.
As long as the training is completed and both parties agree, the transfer can proceed, he added.
Under the ministry's proposed measures, people with mild diseases would no longer need to go through the Ministry of Health and Welfare's long-term care service platform to apply for caregivers, Su said.
Instead, employers could post a seven-day job advertisement on the TaiwanJobs Web site to proceed to the next step, Su said, adding that related measures are expected to launch between now and next month.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
PEAK MONTHS: Data showed that on average 25 to 27 typhoons formed in the Pacific and South China seas annually, with about four forming per month in July and October One of three tropical depressions in the Pacific strengthened into a typhoon yesterday afternoon, while two others are expected to become typhoons by today, Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Lee Ming-hsiang (李名翔) said yesterday. The outer circulation of Tropical Depression No. 20, now Typhoon Mitag, has brought light rain to Hualien, Taitung and areas in the south, Lee said, adding that as of 2pm yesterday, Mitag was moving west-northwest at 16kph, but is not expected to directly affect Taiwan. It was possible that Tropical Depression No. 21 would become a typhoon as soon as last night, he said. It was moving in a
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
A Taiwanese academic yesterday said that Chinese Ambassador to Denmark Wang Xuefeng (王雪峰) disrespected Denmark and Japan when he earlier this year allegedly asked Japan’s embassy to make Taiwan’s representatives leave an event in Copenhagen. The Danish-language Berlingske on Sunday reported the incident in an article with the headline “The emperor’s birthday ended in drama in Copenhagen: More conflict may be on the way between Denmark and China.” It said that on Feb. 26, the Japanese embassy in Denmark held an event for Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s birthday, with about 200 guests in attendance, including representatives from Taiwan. After addressing the Japanese hosts, Wang
RSS