Ministry mulling allowing migrant workers in accommodation sector

Taipei, June 4 (CNA) The Ministry of Labor (MOL) is currently evaluating whether to allow migrant workers into the accommodation sector, Labor Minister Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) said Wednesday, echoing the thinking of the Tourism Administration in late May.

Speaking prior to a legislative hearing, Hung did not provide any specifics on what was being considered, saying only that the ministry would take a bigger role in the process used to hire migrant workers to safeguard their rights.

His focus Wednesday seemed to be more on local workers, saying the MOL would try to ensure that their opportunities would not be affected by any new policy and to encourage employers to improve conditions to get more local workers into the sector.

The issue has been a headache for both the industry and the government in recent years, as hotels in particular face crippling labor shortages that have left them unable to function at full capacity.

According to the Tourism Administration statistics, the accommodation sector had a shortfall of 8,000 workers last year, including a shortage of 5,500 workers in housekeeping functions, leading hotels to close off rooms, limiting their potential revenue.

The Ministry of Labor's Workforce Development Agency has allowed graduating foreign students to work in the industry since Aug. 28, 2024, and some hotels have turned to foreign students in Taiwan on work-study programs, but neither approach has helped plug the gap.

Labor groups have argued that hotel operators are unwilling to pay high enough wages to get more workers, but businesses do not agree and have pushed to allow foreign migrant workers to work in the accommodation sector.

At present, Taiwan allows foreign migrant workers to take jobs in the construction and manufacturing sectors and as domestic caregivers, but not in the service sector, and the MOL has been reluctant to change the policy.

In a May 2024 interview, then-Minister of Labor Ho Pei-shan (何佩珊) said the MOL was against the idea out of concern that it could negatively affect working conditions for middle-aged and elderly workers, as well as women.

She noted that Taiwan's workforce participation rates for these groups were lower than those in Japan and South Korea and that foreign workers would only be considered if those rates could not be improved.

Hung acknowledged Wednesday that conditions in the manufacturing and service sectors were different and said they would have to be discussed and assessed before any decisions were made.

The MOL head's comments came after Tourism Administration Director-General Chou Yung-hui (周永暉) on May 27 spoke of the possibility of employing migrant workers in the accommodation industry and that the policy may be implemented in the second half of 2025.

Hung said Wednesday that the Tourism Administration has been consulted on the matter, but that the policy will be headed by the Labor Ministry.