SEONGNAM — The city of Seongnam will begin paying 70,000 won a month in welfare benefits to care workers at home-based long-term care providers starting in January.
The city said on the 7th that it is expanding a welfare payment program that until now has covered workers at elderly medical welfare facilities and home-based elderly welfare facilities.
The expansion adds 1,048 workers at 129 home-based long-term care providers. The total number of recipients will rise to 3,305 workers at 262 facilities, from 2,257 workers at 133 facilities.
Seongnam plans to add 880.32 million won to its main budget for next year to fund the expansion. That will bring total spending on welfare payments for long-term care workers to about 2.86 billion won.
The city said the program is intended to improve working conditions for care workers and ensure that long-term care services are delivered without disruption.
Seongnam became the first local government in the country to provide such payments to workers at elderly medical welfare facilities and home-based elderly welfare facilities when it launched the program in 2014. The monthly amount rose from 30,000 won in 2014 to 50,000 won in 2020 and 70,000 won in 2021.
Workers at facilities certified by the city receive an additional 20,000 won a month, for a total of 90,000 won. Those at facilities that have been recertified receive an extra 50,000 won, for a total of 120,000 won.
Eligibility is limited to workers at elderly medical welfare facilities, home-based elderly welfare facilities and home-based long-term care providers located in Seongnam that have been designated for more than two years. Workers must log at least 120 hours a month at the same facility. Applications are submitted by each facility, and the payments go directly to workers' personal bank accounts.
"Among the 13 local governments in Gyeonggi Province with populations of more than 500,000, Seongnam is the only one that provides welfare payments to long-term care workers," Mayor Shin Sang-jin said. "We will work to improve conditions so that workers on the front lines of care can do their jobs with stability."
