Taiwan to let families with child under 12 hire migrant domestic helpers

Taipei, March 18 (CNA) Families in Taiwan with at least one child under the age of 12 will be allowed to apply to hire migrant domestic helpers starting April 13 under a new policy aimed at easing the burden of childcare, with the number of eligible households estimated at more than 1.44 million.

Speaking at the Executive Yuan on Wednesday, Minister without Portfolio Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said the government has decided to relax the current rules, under which only families with three children under the age of 6 are eligible to apply.

He said that the standard has been widely seen as too strict.

As a result, only 2,003 of Taiwan's more than 870,000 migrant workers were employed as domestic helpers as of late January, performing household duties such as cleaning and cooking, according to the Ministry of Labor (MOL).

Under the relaxed rules, households with one child under 12 can apply to hire migrant domestic helpers, provided they pay a monthly salary of at least NT$20,000 (US$626.36), plus a NT$5,000 employment security fee per worker.

The security fee is a government levy used to support labor welfare and the management of migrant workers.

Meanwhile, foreign employers will be required to pay NT$10,000 per worker per month.

The fee structure is the same as the one for Taiwanese and foreign employers currently permitted to hire migrant domestic helpers.

Meanwhile, Su Yu-kuo (蘇裕國), an official with MOL's Workforce Development Agency, said more than 1.44 million households could qualify under the expanded rules and that disadvantaged or special-needs households will receive priority review of their applications to help them hire helpers more quickly.

Su said the policy only relaxes eligibility criteria, while the source countries for migrant domestic helpers remain the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand.

Asked whether the policy could affect the labor market, Chen said that with applications set to open on April 13, MOL will offer vocational training, employment incentives and living subsidies to help local babysitters and domestic service workers transition into new roles.