Taipei: 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.
According to Focus Taiwan, rallygoers, many of them wheelchair users or older adults, chanted "Citizens first, employers rise!" during the first-ever "Employers' Day" rally on Ketagalan Boulevard outside the Presidential Office, one day after Labor Day. Among them was Calven Su, 27, who was paralyzed from the neck down in a motorcycle accident five years ago. Su expressed concerns that the MOL has been focusing too much on protecting migrant workers' rights while overlooking employers' needs.
Su highlighted the employment security fee, a monthly charge of NT$2,000 (US$63.25) that employers of migrant workers must pay under the Employment Service Act to support national employment, labor welfare, and the management of foreign worker employment. He argued that families hiring caregivers should not have to bear this cost, as it does not align with their care needs.
The International Association of Family and Employers with Disabilities, an NGO formed by employers of migrant caregivers, organized the event and echoed Su's demands. The association called for the abolition of the employment security fee for families hiring migrant caregivers, arguing that the fee does not ensure stable care resources. They also advocated for a "zero care gap" mechanism to prevent families from being left without support when migrant caregivers are unavailable.
In response, the MOL stated it would collaborate with the Ministry of Health and Welfare to review existing respite and short-term care services, including the possibility of raising the current 52-day cap. The ministry also expressed a willingness to comprehensively examine ways to alleviate the financial and care burden on families caring for people with severe illnesses, indicating that related assessments are already underway.
Migrant worker rights advocate Lennon Wang, speaking to CNA, acknowledged that discussions on abolishing the employment security fee could take place. However, he cautioned that removing it entirely could severely impact migrant worker protections, as the fee funds essential services, including a labor hotline, interpreters, labor inspectors, and shelters. Wang warned that the absence of these services would mark a significant regression in migrant workers' rights.
The rally followed a gathering of nearly 100 migrant workers on Friday at the same venue, where they called for all domestic service workers to be covered by labor insurance, which offers benefits for maternity, injury, illness, disability, and old age.