Last month, I asked dozens of Indonesian vocational school students in West Java whether they planned to work overseas after graduation. Nearly all raised their hands.
However, when I asked whether they wanted to work in Taiwan, only seven students kept their hands raised. Most said they preferred Japan or South Korea.
I then asked them whether they were aware that working in Japan or South Korea typically requires nearly a year of preparation and involves higher costs than working in Taiwan. Most nodded, and did not seem to mind.
Taiwan remains the top destination for migrant workers. Last year, 89,960 Indonesians migrated to Taiwan, far more than to Japan (19,970) or South Korea (7,448). Yet, the advantages that once drew migrants, such as quick placement, lower upfront costs and simpler requirements, resonate far less with younger Indonesians.
This popularity crisis has little to do with cross-strait relations. Japanese pop culture and the Korean Wave are reshaping how young Indonesians imagine work overseas, moving beyond economic motivations to embrace overseas work as a path to a new lifestyle.
Many parents now have the capital to cover the high placement fees required for Japan and South Korea, accumulated through years of overseas work, while the Indonesian government has curbed excessive recruitment charges.
Many young people are unaware that live-in care work in Taiwan, largely filled by migrant labor, continues to be excluded from the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法). While they often focus on the higher wages offered in Japan and South Korea, they overlook the fact that lower pay for domestic workers in Taiwan is closely linked to this exclusion.
If Taiwan wants to sustain its appeal as a destination for migrant workers, the most urgent step is to include live-in care workers under the aforementioned law. While other blue-collar workers, such as fishers, construction workers and factory laborers, are already covered, residential care workers remain excluded.
Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong face rapidly aging populations. These societies increasingly depend on migrant care workers to support older adults, allowing younger citizens to remain employed in higher-productivity sectors. Similar demographic pressures have intensified competition among East Asian countries for migrant care workers, prompting workers to choose destinations that offer the most appealing conditions.
Moreover, Taiwan relies on Indonesian care workers. The latest data from the Ministry of Labor showed that one in four migrant workers was employed in the care sector, and 82 percent of migrant care workers came from Indonesia.
Extending labor protections would guarantee regular rest days, allowing care workers time beyond their workplaces. Many have lived in Taiwan for years, yet have seen little more than Taipei Railway Station. Under the current legislation, rest days are entirely determined by employers, and it is not uncommon for care workers to receive as little as 12 hours off every two months.
Including care workers under the law would also enable fairer wages. Despite a rise in the national minimum wage to NT$29,500 last month, live-in care workers still earn NT$20,000 per month — unchanged since 2017.
As Taiwan becomes a super-aged society, it cannot afford to lose migrant workers to competing destinations. The stakes are even higher for a tech-savvy younger generation, whose online stories can rapidly shape migration choices, either reinforcing preferred destinations or amplifying accounts of harsh working conditions in Taiwan.
Vanny El Rahman is a doctoral researcher in Asia-Pacific regional studies at National Dong Hwa University.
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