Welfare regime and labour migration policy for elderly care: new phase of social development in Taiwan

Abstract

Unique aspect of elder care in Taiwan is the existence of large number of migrant care workers in the informal labour market before the formation of universal welfare provision. The migrants were introduced in the 1990s, as part of the labour policy to increase more women into the labour market. The democratisation has led to the expansion of welfare state but the issue of labour migration and the human rights of the migrants were set aside. Although migrants share proportionate amount of care work, they are segregated in the informal labour market. The paper examines the recent developments in Taiwan’s welfare state, including its effort to formalise care, and highlight the issue of migrant care workers within the familialistic welfare regime.

Keyword:

• Welfare regime
• migration
• foreign domestic workers (FDWs)
• elder care
• community development

Notes

1. Similar statement is often repeated from Lee Kwan Yew as well. http://www.pmo.gov.sg/newsroom/speech-prime-minister-lee-hsien-loong-economic-society-singapore-annual-dinner (accessed in June 26).

2. See the following website http://www.wda.gov.tw/home.jsp?pageno=201111160008&acttype=view&dataserno=201512100004 accessed June 2017.

3. FDWs in both categories can work for household work, child care and elder care.

4. In other sectors, to specify the demand for foreign worker, particular manufacture sector was defined as a ‘3 K’ job (which stands for Kitsui or difficult, Kitanai or dirty and Kiken or dangerous sector, borrowed from Japanese terminology), and the number of foreign workers soared again, showing limiting foreign workers was not successful in all sectors.

5. This is clear from the statistics of both Ministries.

6. Mutual recognition of qualification is not yet an agenda as of 2017.

7. Based on interview to 社團法人台灣長期照顧發展協會全國聯合會(Taiwan Association for Long-Term Care Facility Association) in May, 2017.

8. The exclusiveness is sometimes seen in other countries as well.

9. See Du and Cho (2009) for training module.

10. The date is from undisclosed information of Council of Labor Affairs.

11. However, the reality was different. According to author’s survey in 2004, 64.6% of employer conducted saving of worker in elderly institution (n = 51), 56.3% confiscated passport and 33.3% confiscated labor permits.

12. Interview conducted with 社團法人台灣長期照顧發展協會全國聯合會(Taiwan Association for Long-Term Care Association) in October 2017.

13. Author’s interview with local office of Department of Health and Welfare (2016).

14. See the following for the plan. http://english.ey.gov.tw/News_Hot_Topic.aspx?n=FE8C5966F81D8273&sms=BBB420E471DAF6C0