Families hiring migrant caregivers rally for more support, lower fees

Taipei, May 2 (CNA) Families who hire migrant caregivers rallied in Taipei on Saturday to call for lower fees and stronger support for households reliant on those workers, as the Ministry of Labor (MOL) pledged to review care services and a migrant worker rights advocate warned against weakening worker protections.

"Citizens first, employers rise!" chanted rallygoers, many of them wheelchair users or older adults, during the first-ever "Employers' Day" rally on Ketagalan Boulevard outside the Presidential Office, one day after Labor Day.

Among them was Calven Su (蘇煥凱), 27, who was paralyzed from the neck down in a motorcycle accident five years ago.

"MOL has leaned heavily toward protecting migrant workers' rights while ignoring employers' voices," said Su, who was accompanied to the rally by his Filipino caregiver.

Su cited the employment security fee, which employers of migrant workers must pay under the Employment Service Act to support national employment, labor welfare and the management of foreign worker employment.

For those who hire migrant caregivers, the fee is NT$2,000 (US$63.25) per month per worker.

Su argued that families hiring caregivers should not have to bear that cost, saying the money was being used in ways unrelated to their care needs.

His concerns echoed demands made by the International Association of Family and Employers with Disabilities, an NGO formed by employers of migrant caregivers that organized the event.

The association called for abolishing the employment security fee for families hiring migrant caregivers, arguing that the monthly payment "does not ensure stable care human resources."

It also urged a "zero care gap" mechanism to ensure families caring for people with severe illnesses or disabilities are not left without support when migrant caregivers go missing, transfer to another employer, or are delayed by administrative procedures.

In response, the MOL said it would work with the Ministry of Health and Welfare to review existing respite and short-term care services, including raising the current 52-day cap.

Regarding the employment security fee, the ministry said it was also "willing to take a comprehensive look" at ways to further reduce the financial and care burden on families caring for people with severe illnesses, adding that related assessments "have already begun."

Migrant worker rights advocate Lennon Wang (汪英達) told CNA that calls to abolish the employment security fee "could be discussed," but warned that scrapping it entirely would seriously undermine migrant worker protections.

Wang said the fee supports services for migrant workers, including the 1955 labor hotline, interpreters, labor inspectors and shelters.

Without the fee, many of those services could disappear, he said, describing that as a "major step backward" for migrant workers' rights.

On Friday, nearly 100 migrant workers rallied at the same venue, calling for all domestic service workers to be covered by labor insurance, which provides benefits in cases of maternity, injury, illness, disability and old age.