Migrant Workers, the secret ingredient that keeps Taiwan functioning

[afterspivak]

Taiwan’s current industrial and social structure would fall apart.

That’s close enough to a “nose dive” for me.

Guy

[foc]

Agree. A large docile workforce willing to put in long hours for relatively low pay has been a key part of Taiwan’s economic success for seven decades now. Once upon a time, that workforce was Taiwanese. Taiwanese who don’t have to or won’t do this kind of work have been replaced by immigrants since the early 1990s.

[Marco]

@afterspivak

Taiwan’s current industrial and social structure would fall apart.

That’s close enough to a “nose dive” for me.

Guy

Show me a number. 50%?

[afterspivak]

I have no idea what the topic of your percentage is.

If we need stats about labour force numbers, the inimitable @foc may be able to help.

Guy

[Marco]

What exactly is a steep drop? 50% contraction in economic output?

When I think of a nose dive, I think of something significant.

[TT]

@afterspivak

I have no idea what the topic of your percentage is.

Nose dive

[OysterOmelet]

Tons of old people would die.

[Chongman99]

Good idea. I will modify it.

[TT]

@OysterOmelet

Tons of old people would die.

That’s gonna free up hospital staff to go grind wafers

[tommy525]

I think TAiwan society does need the foreign workers taking the jobs taiwanese dont want to do. Much like America is going well because of all the latinos (mostly) who are doing all the work the Murcans wont do.

[afterspivak]

A fantastic and thoughtful piece by a visiting Filipino journalist on migrant workers in Taiwan—and some of the many challenges they face. This is long-form journalism, so get yourself a cup of tea or coffee and settle in for a bracing read.

Becoming and Reporting: A journalist's journey to learn about Taiwan's hidden...

Guy

[ChewDawg]

Taiwan’s fishing industry under scrutiny.
Taiwan is held up as a bastion of liberal values. But migrant workers report abuse, injury and death in its fishing industry | CNN

[Explant]

@Chongman99

Let’s discuss: are Indonesian and foreign workers the secret ingredient that keeps Taiwan running?

Or, put another way, if Taiwan were to lose all the foreign workers (of which Indonesia is the largest source), would Taiwan mostly fall apart?

• Taiwan would barely notice (0-10% impact)
• Taiwan would be affected moderately (10-30% impact)
• Taiwan would be affected a lot (30-60% impact)
• Taiwan would collapse (60%-100% impact)

Note, “impact” is a purposefully vague term. GDP would not be the only impact. Longevity outcomes and family stress outcomes also matter.

For sake of clarity, consider this hypothetical scenario: a law passes that kicks out 95% of foreign workers in 1 year. (5% of highly skilled labor can stay, so no brain drain or loss of irreplaceable skills.) How big is the impact on Taiwan?

context

I was watching a travel show about Singapore, and the host asked (with some edginess), “so it seems like the reason for Singapore’s success are the low paid indonesian nannies and helpers. If you didn’t have them, you couldn’t focus on your high paying jobs”. And the well off locals basically said, “yes.”

So, Taiwan has a lot of people who say it is great because of cultural values and education and good leadership. I think those all play a part. But I think a bigger part is the low-paid workers, especially those taking care of (richer and middle-class) old people.

Yes, there are some locals (Taiwan citizens, born in Taiwan) that do these jobs. And many low-paid service workers and restaurant workers who are Taiwanese. But in elder-care and some of the more demanding jobs, it seems like foreign workers dominate the number of workers. Partly because I think most Taiwanese think those jobs are beneath them or pay too little.

Many of the foreign workers also do factory work, construction, and fishing, but those industries also have a lot of Taiwan people. (Source: Wikipedia, foreign workers in taiwan)

Note: i say indonesian because those are the ones I see in live-in elder care. Philippines and Vietnam are also large sources of foreign workers.

aside

I have lived in the USA, and there has been a long time that migrant workers (legal immigrants and also undocumented) have dominated construction and restaurant work. One person said that the New York City restaurant industry would collapse without latino workers.

I agree, probably(?), with your intention. However, the wording is incorrect, so :no. It’s more complicated than that, plus incorrect that Indonesia is the most important human import nation for Taiwan…if we want to be that superficial. It’s perhaps the most convenient imported human because so many families either are too busy or hate their elders enough to not what to be around them whilst they are on deaths door…but Vietnamese are really fueling the economy far more than Indonesians
By a very large number. Legal stats won’t show reality, so I guess this can be jotted down as “opinion”. But, everyone knows. The china problem, with injections, is a real issue too. But people don’t like talking about that very much.