TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Facing a shortage of 8,000 employees in the hotel sector, several ministries were discussing plans to import migrant workers, Transportation Minister Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said Thursday (Oct. 12).
The aging of the population and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic have led to staff shortages in several sectors, with hotels and hospitality requiring 8,000 new workers, including 5,500 for their cleaning staff. At present, migrant workers, mostly from Southeast Asian countries, are employed as factory workers or caregivers.
According to Wang, the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MOTC) was already discussing a concrete plan with the Ministry of Labor (MOL) to recruit migrant labor, per CNA. The departments still needed to agree on a number for the migrant workers to be recruited, he said, with the MOL emphasizing the employment of middle-aged and elderly workers.
Despite the launch of subsidies, it was still difficult to find cleaning staff for hotels and B&Bs because the work was deemed to be tiring and without prospects for promotion, according to Wang. However, he said that migrant workers might be more interested in those types of tasks, he said.
The MOTC’s Tourism Administration said it had met with representatives of the hotel sector Wednesday (Oct. 11) to exchange ideas and suggestions. Another discussion of the topic was scheduled for next week, the administration said.