Taiwan is facing a critical loss of childcare manpower, according to the Childcare Policy Alliance (CPA) in a press conference on Thursday. The organization calls on the government to adjust current childcare policies and subsidies to prevent a worker shortage and poor-quality services.
With low fertility rates and fewer births being national security issues in Taiwan, the Legislature has announced a childcare subsidy adjustment from NT$8,500 per month to NT$13,000 (US$274 to US$419) starting this year, to show support for families with children.
However, the CPA pointed out that according to statistics from the Health Ministry, over 60% of the 27,134 nannies in Taiwan are over 50 years old and the industry will see a landslide of retirements in the next ten years. It said that no matter how many subsidies the government provides, parents will still be faced with the difficulty of finding nannies as the current salary is too low and young people are reluctant to go into the field. The CPA calls for an additional increase in childcare worker salary subsidies of NT$12,000 to NT$24,000 (US$387 to US$774) per year.
The press conference also invited childcare workers and parents to give their own speeches. Carer Wang Li-yu (王力玉) pointed out that nannies are the best teammates of parents and if the scholarship can be increased, it will allow them to take better care of each child. Parent Lu Jia-min (呂佳旻) said that she has benefited a lot from the nanny system, so she is willing to stand up and fight for a salary increase; this way more people are willing to join the industry and nannies can get the respect and feedback they deserve.