TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The hotel sector should not assume that employing foreign staff will cut costs, Labor Minister Hsu Ming-chun (許銘春) said Thursday (Feb. 23).
The hospitality and tourism sectors have been facing a shortage of staff since Taiwan reopened its borders to mass tourism in October, scrapping most quarantine and vaccination requirements for visitors.
L’Hotel de Chine Group President Emile Sheng (盛治仁) said recently that despite raising the monthly salary to NT$37,000 ($1,200), one of Taipei City’s most prestigious hotels, the Mandarin Oriental, was still unable to find sufficient candidates to work in room service. He proposed the Ministry of Labor (MOL) should introduce a limited opening of the sector to foreign workers.
However, in a radio interview Thursday, Hsu emphasized the service sector was a major source of employment for local workers. She also dispelled the suggestion that foreign staff would be cheaper, as the official minimum wage of NT$26,400 added with various food and management costs would raise the total to about NT$32,000.
The minister also said that employing foreign workers would not be simple, Radio Taiwan International (RTI) reported. In addition, she noted the low wages valid in the hotel sector.
Some employers required staff to speak fluent English and Japanese, but they were only willing to pay NT$28,000 a month, Hsu said. She also criticized the selection process, which was too slow, leading candidates to abandon the hotel sector and look for higher-paying jobs elsewhere.
