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.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
Taiwan on Friday said a New Zealand hamburger restaurant has apologized for a racist remark to a Taiwanese customer after reports that it had first apologized to China sparked outrage in Taiwan. An image posted on Threads by a Taiwanese who ate at Fergburger in Queenstown showed that their receipt dated Sunday last week included the words “Ching Chang,” a racial slur. The Chinese Consulate-General in Christchurch in a statement on Thursday said it had received and accepted an apology from the restaurant over the incident. The comment triggered an online furor among Taiwanese who saw it as an insult to the
RSS