Industrial business leaders yesterday voiced conditional support for Premier William Lai’s call (賴清德) to raise entry-level wages, saying the issue has more to do with supply and demand, as well as inflation.
They made the comments after a breakfast meeting organized by the Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce (工商協進會) during which Lai urged companies to raise entry-level wages to NT$30,000 a month to help stop the brain drain.
Association chairman Lin Por-fong (林伯豐) said that listed companies would support the government on the matter, adding that a majority already offer wages far above the threshold if bonuses and other forms of compensation are factored in.
Companies would accommodate the policy if the government would freeze basic wages for five years, Lin said, adding that the wage hikes in the past few years outpaced their expectations.
Low wages have been blamed for the brain drain and relatively high unemployment among university graduates. It is the first time the business group held face-to-face conversations with Lai, who has made boosting private investment his top priority.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) chairman Morris Chang (張忠謀) praised Lai for being efficient and expressive, but said it is inappropriate for the government to intervene in a free labor market that should decide whether wage hikes are needed.
“There is no need for the government to press for wage hikes, as TSMC offers high wages and implements salary increases every year,” Chang said.
Labor turnover tends to be high in times of negative market cycles and workers can find jobs in China, the US or elsewhere if they consider wages too low in Taiwan, Chang said.
As for air pollution, Chang said that is also a problem in London, Los Angeles and Beijing, adding that cars contribute more to pollution than power plants.
Chang declined to comment on labor rule revisions, saying they would have little impact on TSMC.
Daniel Tsai (蔡明忠), chairman of Taiwan Mobile Co (台灣大哥大) and vice chairman of the trade group, said inflation has more to do with wage levels and the government should approach the matter from a broader perspective.
Policymakers should work out measures to induce moderate inflation and wage levels would pick up, Tsai said.
The government should lower the frequency of basic wage adjustments so companies might be more willing to increase wages, he said.
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