VietNamNet Bridge - Taiwan has removed the ban on Vietnamese working in the fishing industry and housekeeping jobs to address a labour shortage in the country.

The WantChinaTimes newspaper reported that Taiwanese Labour Minister Chen Hsiung-wen issued the decision last Wednesday.

Earlier, Chen met with Vietnamese officials to discuss labor and employment.

Chen said the two sides were satisfied with the agreement and the ban will be removed from July 1.

In the first phase, the two sides will discuss in more detail on the provision of skill training programs for Vietnamese workers by establishing several vocational training centers in Vietnam, Chen said.

The two sides will also discuss the issues of labor exploitation, and the project will be assessed a year later.

Taiwan banned recruitment of Vietnamese fishing workers in May 2004 and stopped receiving house maids from Vietnam in January 2015.

However, Indonesia’s ban on exporting unskilled labor caused Taiwan to struggle to manage the workforce.

According to the Taiwanese Ministry of Labour, Indonesian workers accounted for the highest percentage of foreign workers in Taiwan with over 231,000 out  of 556,000 foreign workers by late January 2015, representing 41.6%.

Dan Tri