The minimum wage will be raised this year, with the range of the increase surpassing the estimated annual inflation rate, Council of Labor Affairs Minister Jennifer Wang (王如玄) said yesterday.
Wang’s comments came amid mounting concerns about inflationary pressures as electricity rates are set to rise by between 16.9 percent and 35 percent from May 15, following an average 10 percent increase in the prices of petroleum-based fuels that took place on April 2.
Speaking on the sidelines of a committee meeting at the legislature, Wang said the council is scheduled to hold a meeting in the third quarter of this year to review the minimum wage.
“As part of our efforts to protect the rights and interests of wage earners, the minimum monthly and hourly wages will surely be adjusted upward this year, with the range fully reflecting domestic consumer price increases,” Wang said.
The current minimum monthly wage is NT$18,780, with a minimum hourly rate of NT$103.
In its latest forecast issued two days earlier, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research said the consumer price index (CPI) could rise by 1.93 percent this year as a result of the power and fuel price rises. That figure is 0.45 percentage points higher than its previous estimate made in December last year.
Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics Minister Shih Su-mei (石素梅) said the increases in both fuel and electricity prices could drive CPI growth above 2 percent this year.
“In any case, all government departments will do their utmost to keep headline inflation at bay,” Shih said, adding that she hoped inflation this year would remain below 2 percent.
Shih said the agency regularly tallies the prices of 424 major products sold on the domestic market, and it would release its forecasts on GDP growth and inflation for this year on April 30 after factoring in various elements, such as international crude oil prices and raw material costs.
On Wednesday, Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang (施顏祥) said if the government failed to keep CPI growth at no more than 2 percent this year, he would step down to take responsibility.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique