From left: Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Lai Ching-te, opposition Kuomintang presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih and Taiwan People’s Party presidential candidate Ko Wen-je. Photo courtesy of the Central Election Commission Dec. 26, 2023
Taipei, Dec. 26 (CNA) Two of Taiwan's three presidential candidates tackled the issue of labor shortages during Tuesday's policy presentation, with one advocating for a comprehensive evaluation of Taiwan's workforce requirements before considering the introduction of a necessary number of foreign workers.
Facing off for the second time in the 2024 election, Taiwan People's Party presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), the Democratic Progressive Party's Lai Ching-te (賴清德) and Kuomintang's Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) went head-to-head in a wide-ranging policy presentation.
Of the three candidates, Ko was the only participant who presented a relatively comprehensive policy to tackle Taiwan's labor shortages during the 90-minute event.
"In different occupational categories such as agriculture, manufacturing, caregiving and construction, we need to calculate how many workers Taiwan approximately needs, how much local labor can provide, and the remaining difference is where migrant workers should be introduced," he said.
Migrant workers are meant to supplement the insufficient local workforce not replace local workers, the former Taipei mayor added.
Ko also put forward the idea of granting migrant workers the freedom to switch employers within the same industry, in an effort to diminish incentives for them to "become undocumented."
There are around 751,000 migrant workers in Taiwan, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Labor (MOL) and rights groups have long advocated for them to be given the freedom to switch employers.
A MOL official, Chuang Kuo-liang (莊國良), told CNA after the presentation that, as per regulations, migrant workers can switch to another employer in certain industries, such as caregiving, agriculture and construction, after three years of service.
During Tuesday's presentation, Ko said if elected, he will establish a national recruitment platform to make the introduction of migrant workers more open and transparent.
Currently, there are about 85,000 migrant workers whose whereabouts are unknown, Ko noted, arguing that the situation is not only a labor issue but also a national security problem.
"[The predicament] indicates significant flaws in our migrant worker policy that need improvement," he said.
Meanwhile, Hou outlined his own policy to address the labor shortages, but focused only on the agricultural sector.
Hou said that if elected he will create a migrant worker outreach platform to engage with migrant workers, brokers and employers, in an attempt to address the manpower shortage in the sector.
He added that brokers would take on the responsibility of training, selecting and dispatching workers, thereby streamlining the recruitment process.
The Democratic Progressive Party's Lai did not discuss labor shortages during Tuesday's event, but he did address the issue in November when he said, before introducing foreign workers, "we should first ensure fair wages for local labor."
Presidential candidates are set to deliver their third policy presentations on Dec. 28, with the only official debate scheduled for Dec. 30.
The presidential and legislative elections take place on Jan. 13, 2024.
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