Taipei: A program allowing eligible families to hire migrant caregivers for a minimum of four hours at a time will go into effect by the end of March, and six selected employers under the program will soon be unveiled, a labor official said Thursday.
According to Focus Taiwan, the program, announced last May, targets families with a member holding a certificate for physical or mental disability, severe illness, or injury. It also includes households where a family member requires long-term care at levels 2 to 8 or has undergone surgery within the preceding three months. Under current regulations, foreign care workers typically reside with the hiring families, providing full-time care.
The Ministry of Labor's Workforce Development Agency (WDA) highlighted that a unique feature of the new program is that NGOs, private foundations, and nonprofits will employ the dispatched caregivers instead of long-term care institutions. This pilot program is distinct in offering short-term services on short notice for families with urgent needs, stated WDA Senior Specialist Hu Hsin-yeh.
The employers selected for the program have extensive experience managing Taiwanese caregivers under the long-term care system and have been operational for at least five years. However, Hu noted that some organizations might enlist labor brokers to recruit foreign workers, leading to migrant caregivers potentially facing monthly "service fees" ranging from NT$1,500 (US$45.6) to NT$1,800 deducted from their salaries.
Su Yu-kuo, head of the WDA's Cross-border Workforce Management Division, explained that labor brokers would handle the caregivers' daily lives, such as managing their dormitories, while recruitment and management remain the employers' responsibilities. Su emphasized that only labor brokers with an "A" rating from the WDA for five consecutive years or those with waived evaluations due to past excellent results will be commissioned by the employers.
Families hiring caregivers through the program can expect fees ranging from NT$1,000 to NT$1,250 for four-hour periods, NT$1,200 to NT$2,500 for eight-hour periods, and NT$2,600 to NT$3,500 for 24-hour periods, which must include 10 hours of rest for the caregiver. Prices will differ among service providers, and a detailed price chart will be available on the WDA's website in due course.
