Demand for Pinoy caregivers, HSWs still high in Taiwan

MANILA, Philippines — Employment opportunities for Filipino caregivers and household service workers (HSWs) remain bright in Taiwan, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported yesterday.

Citing reports from the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO), it said Taiwanese employers have hired thousands of Filipino HSWs and caregivers in the past months. In Taipei alone, the POLO processed about 2,400 requests for caretakers and household workers from May to Aug. 9.

Labor attaché Cezar Chavez Jr. said those newly hired HSWs and caregivers would benefit directly from the new minimum monthly wage in Taiwan, noting that the Taiwanese government, for the first time since 2015, granted a 17.6 percent increase in monthly pay for migrant workers.

The new rates took effect last Aug. 10 and would benefit both arriving migrants and those who are signing new contracts with their employers in Taiwan. Those who signed theirs before Aug. 10 are not covered.

According to the POLO, the minimum monthly wage for migrant workers is now pegged at NT $20,000 from the previous NT $17,000 (about $565).

“The labor ministry has also advised Taiwanese employers to increase by NT $1,000 the salaries after three years and another NT $1,000 for workers who are six years in service,” the DOLE said.

For low-income and low-middle income employers to be able to pay the new wage rate to their workers, they will be entitled to a NT $3,000 monthly government subsidy for the next three years or a maximum of NT $108,000.