Taipei:Employers and migrant worker advocacy groups held separate protests outside government ministries in Taipei, demanding solutions to issues in live-in care policies. The protests, which occurred on Tuesday, highlighted differing views on protecting care recipients and migrant workers.
According to Focus Taiwan, the protest outside the Ministry of Labor (MOL) saw an employers' group challenge Labor Minister Hung Sun-han to a public debate. The group accused the government of ignoring disruptions in care when migrant caregivers are unavailable. Heidi Chang, chairperson of the International Association of Family and Employers with Disabilities, criticized the ministry's response to demands from a previous protest.
A protester, identified as Tseng, shared her family's struggles after their caregiver became unavailable due to pregnancy. Tseng's family has been traveling to care for her mother, facing financial and logistical challenges in finding a replacement caregiver.
The association, supported by Kuomintang Legislator Wang Hung-wei, called for faster replacement procedures and emergency care arrangements to prevent prolonged gaps in assistance.
Meanwhile, outside the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW), groups like the Taiwan International Workers' Association argued that care gaps resulted from inadequate public services, not migrant caregivers' maternity leave. They urged the government to expand affordable care services and proposed employing caregivers through institutions for continuous care.
Marni, from the Indonesian migrant caregiver union SBIPT, highlighted the difficulties caregivers face in taking time off and the burden of arranging substitute workers. She emphasized that caregivers should not be treated as mere machines.
The MOHW responded by stating that households employing live-in migrant caregivers are eligible for community-based care services. The MOL announced a subsidy allocation for respite and substitute care services and plans to expand public care resources and improve caregiver training. However, it did not confirm whether Minister Hung would accept the debate invitation.
