Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) yesterday decided that beginning next year, the minimum wage will be contingent on growth in the consumer price index (CPI), a policy drawing severe criticism from labor groups.
With a threshold of a cumulative CPI growth of 3 percent or higher needed before the minimum wage will be reviewed, “it is highly likely that the basic wage levels will remain stagnant in the remaining three years of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) tenure,” Taiwan Labor Front secretary-general Son Yu-lian (孫友聯) said.
The Executive Yuan issued a press statement yesterday saying Jiang has given the green light to the proposed rises in hourly and monthly minimum wages, along with a policy to tie adjustments to minimum wages to CPI growth, presented by the Council of Labor Affairs last month.
Photo: CNA
Under the proposal, the minimum hourly wage will be raised from NT$109 to NT$115, starting Jan. 1 next year, while the minimum monthly wage, which is now NT$19,047, will be increased to NT$19,273, effective July 1 next year.
The Executive Yuan has assessed that more than 1.76 million workers paid monthly, including 240,000 migrant workers, and more than 310,000 hourly workers will benefit from the wage adjustment.
Meanwhile, beginning next year, the council’s Minimum Wage Review Committee, which holds an annual review on minimum wages, will be held only when CPI increases by 3 percent or higher, according to the proposal.
In the press statement, the Executive Yuan said that the council’s proposal was adopted by Jiang because consensus was reached among representatives of labor groups, businesses, academics and officials at the council’s committee.
Son disputed the Executive Yuan’s claim, saying labor groups have repeatedly questioned the legitimacy of reviewing the minimum wage only after the growth rate of CPI surpasses 3 percent.
It is a violation of Article 5 of the Regulations for the Deliberation of Basic Wage (基本工資審議辦法) that “the minimum wage review committee should on principle convene in the third quarter of every year to review wages,” Son said.
The rule gives the committee flexibility about when during the year it meets to consider the minimum wage, but it prescribes that it “must convene every year” to review whether adjustments should be made to the basic salary levels, he added.
Scrapping the rule unilaterally is “detrimental to Taiwan’s employment standards” and was “aimed at pleasing conglomerates,” Son said.
Furthermore, according to Article 4 of the Regulations for the Deliberation of Basic Wage, CPI was just one of the seven elements to be factored in when the committee reviews the minimum wages, Son said.
The article stipulated that the committee must also study conditions of national economic development, wholesale price index, national income and average individual income, labor productivity of different industries and their employment situation, workers’ wages in different industries, and statistical figures on household income and expenditure, in addition to the retail price index.
The council said last month that normally, 3 percent or higher CPI growth takes two years.
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
RSS