TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Labor on Tuesday conditionally agreed to evaluate how the service industry can be opened up to hire foreign migrant workers.
The General Chamber of Commerce Chair Paul Hsu (許舒博) led a meeting on Tuesday with Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and other Cabinet officials, per UDN. The meeting focused on nine major topics including discussions about opening the service sector to migrant workers.
After the meeting, Hsu explained that business representatives were most concerned about labor shortages. Cho instructed the labor ministry to propose solutions for labor shortages after Lunar New Year.
Cho said employers must first raise wages for domestic workers to safeguard their interests. The ministry responded it would address labor shortages and opening the service sector to migrant workers after Lunar New Year.
The ministry said that under Article 42 of the Employment Service Act (就業服務法), foreign workers can only be introduced if it does not negatively affect domestic employment or labor conditions, particularly wages. The ministry added this consideration is paramount during its policy evaluation process.
The ministry said service sectors reporting labor shortages include transportation, warehousing, hospitality, and restaurants. However, it said labor shortages in some service industries that require technical skills or cultural and linguistic capabilities, cannot be addressed by hiring migrant workers.
For example, the restaurant industry has increasingly adopted self-service kiosks and delivery robots while significantly raising employee wages. The labor ministry said the hospitality industry is currently the most vocal about seeking foreign workers.
The ministry warned of a potential spillover effect where opening one service sector to migrant workers could prompt similar demands from others.
In response to the hospitality sector's push for foreign workers, the ministry previously urged businesses to improve wage packages, in exchange for labor shortage subsidies to boost salaries in the sector. Despite this, businesses found the results limited, and the ministry subsequently allowed international students to work in hotels.
Nonetheless, calls for opening the hospitality sector to migrant workers have persisted.
The ministry said that policy evaluations are underway but have not yet reached the commitment stage, and it will take a cautious stance.
The nine major areas covered in the dialogue on Tuesday covered: financial and tax policies, net-zero emissions and environmental sustainability, human resources and labor relations, tourism, transportation, healthcare, industrial development, electricity pricing, and other general topics.
