The minimum wage is to be raised 4.72 percent to NT$22,000 (US$725) per month and to NT$140 per hour from January next year, the Ministry of Labor Minimum Wage Review Committee announced yesterday, as industry representatives accused the government of interfering in the review process.
“There was a consensus that a raise was needed, but the amount was passed by a majority,” Minister of Labor Lin Mei-chu (林美珠) said after the day-long review session. “I did not issue a ruling, a decision that could be accepted by the majority was made after discussions and collecting everyone’s views.”
The raise comes after a 5 percent increase last year.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
“We are not satisfied, but the result is acceptable,” said Hsinchu County Union Federation president Chen Fu-chun (陳福俊), a committee member, adding that labor representatives hoped a similar adjustment would be implemented every year.
Chinese National Federation of Industries standing director Sam Ho (何語) accused Lin of making a political decision, saying that she took a telephone call before asking the committee’s “third side” of state officials and government-appointed academics to push through the final figure.
That group makes up one-third of the committee’s 21 members, making them a decisive vote between labor and business interests, which each also hold a third of the committee seats.
Government officials “were completely unwilling to listen” to industry representatives, Ho said, adding that the representatives left the meeting because they were not satisfied with how the decision was made.
The new minimum wage would increase corporate costs by NT$30 billion annually, Ho said.
Department of Labor Standards and Equal Employment Director Hsieh Chien-chien (謝倩蒨) confirmed the committee’s “third side” had proposed the final figure after a day of negotiations, while declining to specify whether a government official or academic had first introduced the figure.
She said that Lin did not bring her mobile phone to the meeting, with the ministry stating that Lin “did not take any calls” during the meeting.
“This is the increase that government agencies had in mind,” said Cheng Chih-yu (成之約), a professor at the Institute for Labor Research at National Chengchi University, adding that government agencies had previously sought to win the approval of industry and labor representatives.
If economic conditions remain stable, a further increase of about 5 percent is likely over the next few years because “no matter who is the minister of labor, they will feel the pressure,” he said.
Lin refused to comment on whether the ministry was satisfied with the increase or how much she thinks the minimum wage should be raised, saying that the decision should be left to the committee.
The proposed increase is to be sent to the Executive Yuan for approval.
Additional reporting by CNA
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from