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Employers criticize proposed increase in minimum wage

A recommended minimum monthly wage hike of 7.5 percent to 9.5 percent goes beyond the level acceptable to employers, the National Association of Small and Medium Enterprises said yesterday.

Association President Lin Ping-pin (林秉彬) made the remarks the day after the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) convened a wage review committee to decide on the level of adjustment, which will be sent to the Executive Yuan for approval.

COST OF LIVING

CLA Chairman Lee Ying-yuan (李應元) said that since the consumer price index has risen by 7.5 percent over the past decade and the minimum monthly wage has not increased at all in the same period, the hike should be at least 7.5 percent.

Lin said the increase is higher that the maximum level of 5 percent acceptable to employers.

Lin argued that while the consumer price index has "only" risen by 7.5 percent, the shortened working hours and a new labor pension system that was put into practice last July have meant that employers have incurred a 30 percent increase in expenses.

He said that many small and medium-sized enterprises would have to close if minimum wage increased by 7.5 percent.

PENSIONS

Under the new pension system, employers must deposit at least 6 percent of an employee's salary into their pension account each month, which the employees can carry with them whenever they change jobs.

Under the old system, an employee would get his or her pension after working for 25 consecutive years for the same company or when they reached the age of 55 years and had worked for the same company for 15 consecutive years.

Also under the old system, employees would receive their pension in one lump sum, while under the new system, retired workers are eligible to receive a monthly pension.
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