Scholar calls for greater industrial automation to balance foreign labor

Taipei, Oct. 26 (CNA) A Taiwanese scholar has suggested that domestic industries move faster into automation, as a means of addressing the current labor shortage in the sector and better managing the migrant worker program.

The government's migrant worker scheme is basically "on a tightrope," Hsin Ping-lung (辛炳隆), an associate professor at National Taiwan University's Graduate Institute of National Development, said in a recent interview.

If local industries can more quickly adopt automation, it will help solve the labor shortage problem in Taiwan and reduce reliance on migrant workers, whose numbers are currently at a record high, Hsin told CNA.

Citing government data, he said the sharp rise in the number of migrant workers indicates fast growing demand for manpower in the industrial sector, particularly in the manufacturing industry.

It has become the norm in Taiwan to address the manpower shortage by recruiting foreign labor, Hsin said, adding that the numbers will continue to increase if some restrictions are not imposed.

He suggested that the government try to find a balance by encouraging more domestic industries to adopt automated production. At the same time, the government could maintain its migrant worker program, he said.

Hsin said that currently, the government has a laissez-faire approach to the recruitment of migrant labor in the business sector, allowing companies to bring in workers whenever they want. This approach gives no incentive to businesses in the industrial sector to move faster on automation, which in turn hinders Taiwan's industrial transformation, he said.

According to the Ministry of Labor's (MOL) latest statistics, the number of migrant workers in Taiwan broke the 800,000 barrier in September, reaching 805,976, the highest number since Taiwan first opened its borders to Southeast Asian workers in 1989.

Of that number, 559,937 were industrial workers in the manufacturing, construction and fishery sectors among others, while 243,900 were employed in the social welfare service, the MOL statistics showed.

The majority were Indonesians, totaling 296,756, followed by Vietnamese at 278,624, Filipinos 157,916 and Thais 72,678, according to the data.

Ten years ago, Taiwan had 534,081 migrant workers, and the number has been growing steadily over the years, except during the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020 and prompted a temporary closure of the country's borders, according to the MOL.