Hoteliers and accommodation service providers could soon begin hiring foreign workers for housekeeping positions after the Executive Yuan voiced its conditional support for such a policy, the Tourism Administration said yesterday.
Details of the new policy are to be announced by the Ministry of Labor, Tourism Administration Director-General Chou Yung-hui (周永暉) said, adding that trial operations could start in the second half of this year.
Taiwan currently only allows foreigners to work in the construction industry or as domestic caregivers. Chou’s statement marks a significant change in the government’s position on recruiting foreign workers, as the labor ministry had previously rejected the Tourism Administration’s proposal to hire housekeeping workers from overseas.
Photo courtesy of the Workforce Development Agency’s Yunlin-Chiayi-Tainan Regional Branch
Instead, the agency was advised to persuade local hoteliers to raise the wages of housekeeping staff and prioritize hiring domestic workers.
Chou said that the labor ministry’s position on recruiting and protecting domestic workers first, including ensuring the right of employment for women and middle-aged and senior workers, remains unchanged.
The labor ministry “would set conditions for hiring foreign workers, which we would discuss with the Hotel Association of the ROC [Republic of China]. If the conditions are considered feasible, we would follow those conditions and start trial operations in the next six months,” Chou said.
Photo: Wang Chun-chung, Taipei Times
Premier Chou Jung-tai (卓榮泰) has indicated his support for allowing hoteliers to recruit foreign workers under certain conditions, Chou added.
Meanwhile, hotels can continue to employ international students and ethnic Chinese students in Taiwan as service personnel, with their duration of stay extended to one to two years, up from six months to one year, Chou said.
Asked about qualifications, Chou said foreign hotel workers must be able to communicate in English and Mandarin.
Separately, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) said that the nation still aims to attract 10 million international visitors this year.
As of May 5, Taiwan had logged 3.5 million international tourist arrivals.
The New Taiwan dollar’s sharp appreciation against the greenback presents a challenge to attracting international tourists, as it has increased their travel costs to Taiwan, Chen said.
The ministry would press on despite the challenge, he said.
“We hope to identify more tourism highlights to draw foreign travelers, not just Sun Moon Lake, Taroko Gorge and Alishan. We also hope that they increase their spending in Taiwan, such as combining tourism and aesthetic medicine,” he said.
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