Labour chief: importing foreign carers won't impact helper market

The Policy Address proposed importing foreign domestic care workers dedicated to taking care of the elderly.

Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun stressed that foreign domestic care workers will not affect the existing foreign domestic helper system.

At the Legislative Council meeting today, some lawmakers expressed concerns that this might prompt foreign domestic helpers to demand wage hikes.

The government plans to launch a pilot scheme in the second half of next year to import foreign domestic carers who possess higher-level nursing skill training and experience.

Their monthly salary will also be 10 to 20% higher than that of ordinary foreign domestic helpers.

Sun said current foreign domestic helpers who wish to transfer to become carers must finish their contract and return to their place of origin to receive at least 150 to 200 hours of training there.

Sun added that even after passing the exam, there is no guarantee that they can become a foreign domestic care worker because the plan is to only try out a few hundred positions each year.