Academics cautioned against moving ahead with a government proposal to open up the hospitality industry to migrant workers to tackle a labor shortage, instead urging politicians to solve the root causes of the problem and be aware of the potential threat to local workers’ livelihoods.
In an interview with the Central News Agency, Tourism Administration Director-General Chou Yung-hui (周永暉) said that Taiwan might have to open up the hospitality industry to migrant workers by the end of the year because of a shortage of labor.
In response, Hsin Ping-lung (辛炳隆), an associate professor at National Taiwan University’s Graduate Institute of National Development, on Wednesday said that the government should think twice before going ahead with the proposal.
Photo courtesy of the Kaohsiung Labor Affairs Bureau
To solve the labor shortage in the hospitality sector, hotel owners should increase wages, not recruit foreign workers, Hsin said.
Hsin said that in the past, opening up the industrial or social welfare sectors was logical because manufacturers feared factories moving overseas and having to compete with global rivals, but the situation is different for the hospitality sector.
The salaries hotel workers earn tend to be lower than in other industries, so even if owners raise wages, people still might choose not to work in hotels, Hsin said.
Hsin urged the government to investigate the root causes of why the hospitality sector is understaffed because of the potential impact of those working in hotels deciding to quit their jobs.
Meanwhile, Lee Chien-hung (李健鴻), a professor at Chinese Culture University’s Department of Labor and Human Resources, said that about 60 percent of Taiwanese workers are employed in the service sector, of which the hospitality industry forms a significant part.
If those jobs are open to foreign workers, Lee said, local hotel employees could be affected or even replaced.
If the government decides to open up the sector, the move needs to be backed up by data that supports it, as it was in the past for the industrial, agriculture and construction sectors, Lee added.
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