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Labour advocate questions caregiver wage hike
The Taiwan International Workers' Association is questioning the government's decision to raise the minimum wage for live-in migrant caregivers and domestic helpers.
Association member Chen Hsiu-lien says the pay rise may help to ease the current labour shortage, but it does little to make Taiwan an internationally competitive destination for such workers.
The pay rise was announced by the Ministry of Labor (MOL) on Wednesday and raises the monthly minimum wage for migrant domestic workers from NT$17,000 to NT$20,000. However, that's still well below the NT$25,250 minimum wage for other Taiwanese workers.
The workers' association says a monthly salary of NT$20,000 is still "extremely low," considering that by the MOL's own calculations, migrant domestic workers have an average of 13-hour days.
The association says live-in migrant workers should receive the same minimum wage and labour protections as Taiwanese and that employers should also provide better working conditions.
