Groups Say Migrant Caregiver Costs Lead to Black Market for Labor

TaiwanPlus News

An organization representing families in need of caregivers for the elderly and disabled says that Taiwan's system of hiring migrant caregivers is too expensive and complicated, leading to a large black market of undocumented workers.

Transcript

00:00Taiwan needs to reform its system for hiring migrant caregivers for the disabled and elderly.

00:06That's the message delivered at the legislature by an organization representing families who

00:11need caregivers.

00:13Every salary for a caregiver is 700 US dollars.

00:17So we are compared like they are making here in Taiwan is four to five times more compared

00:22from what they make back home.

00:25But the problem is when they come to Taiwan, they think the salary is not good enough.

00:30But if we pay as much as the local ones, we cannot afford it.

00:34And because it's not enough, we will just find the illegal migrant workers in the black

00:38markets.

00:39For me, for example, it would be much cheaper and easier for me to hire the illegal ones.

00:45Do you want to encourage all the people in Taiwan to hire some illegal ones instead of

00:50going through the right process?

00:52They say that families in need shouldn't have to pay a required monthly fee of about 60

00:56US dollars while hiring migrant caregivers, which they say is a hidden tax on the disabled.

01:02And they say paying a monthly salary of about 680 US dollars per month to migrant caregivers

01:07is already a hardship for many families, leading many to hire undocumented workers illegally.

01:13Taiwan is projected to become a super aged society next year, meaning 20 percent of people

01:18will be over the age of 65.

01:20And that number is only expected to increase over time, meaning more families will be looking

01:25to hire caregivers for elderly relatives.

01:28Balancing the need for caregivers with concerns about illegal immigration and Taiwan's low

01:33average salaries, this is an issue that affects families in their homes as well as their pocketbooks.

01:39Hu Huahong and Chris Gorin for Taiwan Plus.

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