TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan plans to bring its first 1,000 Indian migrant workers into the manufacturing sector by year's end, Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) announced Saturday (April 11). The move has sparked public concerns about security and workforce management, following the signing of a labor cooperation memorandum with India in 2024.
More than 18,000 people have signed a petition on the government's public policy platform JOIN to halt the plan, Kuomintang (KMT, 國民黨) Legislator Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) said. She criticized the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP, 民進黨) for pushing the initiative despite public protests. Wang accused the party of blaming "foreign groups spreading rumors" to deflect political pressure.
The Control Yuan (監察院), Taiwan's government watchdog, has previously pointed out severe issues with missing migrant workers, who often earn more through illegal work. The National Immigration Agency (移民署) reported 94,000 missing migrant workers as of February, citing language barriers and poor agency management. Wang questioned the Labor Ministry's credibility and urged officials to retract the plan to bring in Indian workers.
Taiwan People's Party (TPP, 民眾黨) Legislator Chen Gau-tzu (陳昭姿) questioned the Ministry of Labor (勞動部) in August about why foreign caregivers were not included in negotiations with India. She suggested exploring other countries as potential sources for caregiving labor. KMT Legislator Chiu Chen-chun (邱鎮軍) has expressed concerns about the slow progress of bringing Indian workers to Taiwan.
