The government’s two-week ban on Indonesian migrant workers is expected to affect 1,350 workers, including 300 to 400 manufacturing jobs, with most of the rest being domestic caregivers, Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said yesterday.
“About 70 percent of migrant workers from Indonesia work as caregivers,” Wang said. “The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) and the Council of Labor Affairs will work with businesses to resolve any urgent staffing problems caused by the temporary ban.”
The main industries affected by the ban are metalworking and food processing, she said.
Photo: Liao Cheng-hui, Taipei Times
Firms who find themselves understaffed due to the ban have three possible solutions, Wang said.
“The council can match companies with local Taiwanese workers; they can find migrant workers from Vietnam, Thailand or the Philippines; or they can extend the visas of their current workers,” Wang said.
Most migrants working in local manufacturing come from Vietnam and the Philippines, followed by those from Indonesia, she added.
“This is a short-term problem,” Wang said.
The Central Epidemic Command Center on Monday announced a two-week ban on travel from Indonesia from Friday, due to a spike in arrivals from Indonesia infected with COVID-19.
The status of the COVID-19 situation in Indonesia would determine whether the ban is partially lifted at the end of the two weeks, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center.
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