TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan will increase the starting salaries of childcare workers at public and quasi-public childcare centers from NT$30,000 to NT$33,200, benefiting an estimated 7,500 individuals, starting January 2025, the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW, 衛福部) announced on Friday (Dec. 20).
The MOHW's Social and Family Affairs Administration (SFAA, 社家署) initiative also raises the starting salary for public childcare institution workers from NT$35,485 to NT$38,011, impacting approximately 4,700 workers. The SFAA hopes these changes will encourage longer tenures among childcare staff.
Aimed at addressing the declining birthrate, the administration will raise the subsidy amounts for childcare centers and home-based childcare workers to prevent the increased wages from burdening parents and to maintain service quality.
Subsidies for quasi-public childcare centers will increase from NT$200,000 to NT$1.2 million range to between NT$240,000 and NT$2.2 million, benefiting around 1,000 centers. The administration also plans to raise home-based childcare worker subsidies from NT$12,000 to NT$18,000, aiming to attract new talent. An estimated 16,000 workers will benefit.
The department's statistics indicate that 4,249 social workers and 384 supervisors funded by the ministry will benefit from these changes, increasing annual expenses by NT$70,438,356 and benefiting approximately 10,000 people.