Survey: 98.8% of Taiwan's Chain Stores Face Front-Line Labor Shortages; Association Urges Opening the Service Sector to Migrant Workers
Taipei — Nearly every chain and franchise business in Taiwan is short of front-line staff, according to a survey released by the Taiwan Chain Stores and Franchise Association at its 25th annual forum in Taipei on October 2, the Central News Agency reported. The poll, conducted in July and August among 160 chain and franchise companies, found that 98.8 percent face store-level labor shortages, 82.5 percent describe the shortage as moderate to severe, 57 percent have been short-staffed for more than a year, and over 80 percent see no improvement from last year. The sector spans restaurants, retail, lodging and daily-life services — among the largest employers in Taiwan's service economy — and its front line has long depended on domestic workers.
The shortage is biting into operations: 77.5 percent of businesses said workloads for existing staff have risen, 60.5 percent struggle with scheduling, and 29.4 percent have cut business hours. The Commercial Times reported that, according to the same survey, about half of new hires at 47.5 percent of businesses quit within six months, so vacancies never stay filled. Association chairman Jimmy Tsai urged the government to open the service sector to migrant workers, starting with a cap of 5 percent of each company's workforce. Tsai is also general manager of medical supplier Apricot Forest (Hsin Yi). He further proposed easing the rules for overseas Chinese and foreign graduates: they currently receive a two-year work-permit-exempt period after graduation, but front-line service jobs do not qualify as specialized or technical work once that period ends, making it hard for them to stay on in Taiwan.
At present, only the hospitality and commercial port sectors may hire migrant workers; the first group of 35 Indonesian hotel workers arrived on September 14. The association's secretary-general is Hung Ya-ling. The National Development Council projects that Taiwan's working-age population will shrink 28 percent by 2035 from its 2015 peak; with the total population already in decline and the labor supply steadily shrinking, low birth rates and aging make service-sector shortages a structural problem rather than a passing one. Businesses are calling on the government to set out a timetable and supporting measures sooner rather than later.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 基隆庙口夜市的摊商与人潮，Bigmorr 摄，CC0 1.0（Wikimedia Commons）
