Taiwan’s tourism bureau has asked the labor ministry to relax restrictions on hiring foreign workers. The bureau held a conference on labor shortages in the hospitality industry on Thursday and called for foreign students to be allowed to work longer hours while in Taiwan.
The hospitality industry is currently struggling with a shortage of workers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has prevented many migrant workers from coming to Taiwan. At the same time, many Taiwanese are choosing to travel domestically because of international travel restrictions.
The chairman of the Taipei Hotel Association, Wei Chien-hua, says the industry urgently needs room service workers. Up to half of the jobs available in that field are currently vacant. He also asked the labor ministry to relax restrictions on hiring foreign workers in room service capacity and to lower the minimum salary requirements for foreigners, which currently stand at NT$30,000 (US$1,050).
The labor ministry says that changes aren’t possible under the current legal framework. It says that limits on foreign students’ work time, currently capped at 20 hours per week, are there to ensure they focus on their studies while in Taiwan. The ministry also suggested that businesses dealing with shortages should ask public employment service centers to help recruiting employees.