The government has received 1,450 applications requesting live-in migrant caregivers as of Sunday under relaxed eligibility rules that went into effect on Aug. 1, Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) said yesterday, far fewer than forecast.
The number of applicants during the second week of the month doubled from the first week, Hung said, speaking before attending a meeting at the Legislative Yuan.
Before the new rules took effect, the Ministry of Labor forecast an increase of 100,000 applications for domestic caregivers, but that rush has yet to materialize.
Photo: Lin Chih-yi, Taipei Times
Hung said that the increased applications in the second week indicated that “demand is growing.”
“Which direction it will take remains to be seen. The ministry would have accompanying measures in place in light of a rise in demand,” he said.
Opposition lawmakers from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party in December last year pushed through bills to ease regulations on recruiting migrant caregivers, allowing people aged 80 and older to hire migrant live-in caregivers without passing a Barthel Index assessment.
The revision also allowed people aged 70 to 79 who have been diagnosed with stage two or later cancer to hire a live-in caregiver without passing the assessment.
Previously, anybody who wanted to hire a migrant caregiver to provide full-time care had to pass the assessment to prove they had the need, but people younger than 80 needed a lower score (showing they were more seriously ill) to qualify than those older than 80.
Based on the ministry’s estimates of new caregiver demand under the new rules, the changes could make it harder or more expensive for severely ill people to get live-in help, as caregivers would opt to work for clients who were easier to care for.
Some experts said caregiver shortages would be possible because of the difficulty in recruiting and training so many new migrant workers.
However, the ministry said it would prioritize applicants with critical care needs when reviewing applications.
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