Regent Taipei first Taiwan hotel to import staff

台北晶華酒店成為台灣首家引進海外員工的飯店

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Regent Taipei will recruit 37 employees from Indonesia as the first hotel to receive approval to import staff, the Ministry of Labor said Friday.

The ministry announced in January that it was allowing hotels and commercial ports to import skilled personnel to meet staff shortages. The employees will be allowed to work in general room management, cleaning, booking, and reception tasks, per Liberty Times.

The monthly salary for foreign staff starts at NT$32,000 (US$1,000). Hotels recruiting one overseas staffer are also required to raise the minimum wage of one full-time Taiwanese employee by NT$2,000.

All 37 recruits at the Regent Taipei have worked as interns at the hotel for at least one year within the past three years, according to the ministry. The Indonesians do not need any additional training and can start work as soon as they arrive back in Taiwan, thanks to their experience and knowledge of the local work environment, the Liberty Times reported.

By August, more than 50 hotels had applied to recruit 500 overseas workers, with the ministry organizing 12 events to provide information to employers. The ministry emphasized the difference between the hotel staffing program and migrant workers in general, saying the hotel recruits need to possess a related background as well as language ability.

As to work in ports, the authorities are at various stages of discussion with Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines to prepare for the import of labor, the ministry said.