The Council of Labor Affairs came under fire from labor groups yesterday for failing to hold an annual meeting to discuss the minimum wage.
Although the council is not legally bound to hold a minimum wage adjustment meeting every year, it has generally held the meeting every July.
Earlier this month, the council sent a proposal to the Executive Yuan to change the way the minimum wage adjustment meetings are held.
However, no action has been taken on the proposal, and with the month coming to a close, the council has yet to hold a meeting to discuss the minimum wage.
Labor groups panned the council for delaying the meeting, saying it was an important means of protecting protect the rights of workers, especially those on the bottom rungs of the ladder.
“For businesses, it is never a good time to talk [about increasing the minimum wage],” Taiwan Confederation of Trade Unions secretary-general Hsieh Chuang-chih (謝創智) said.
Hsieh said the minimum wage should have been adjusted a long time ago, because it is almost impossible for workers to survive on a monthly salary of NT$17,280.
The minimum wage was last adjusted in 2007.
Labor groups said they suspected the government was delaying the annual minimum wage talks on purpose, because even after the council’s proposal is approved, there are still many steps to complete before the committee can start talks to discuss the minimum wage, such as deciding on who will represent each side in the committee.
The council’s proposal calls for changing the composition of the minimum wage committee by decreasing the proportion of government representation to allow more representatives from labor, business and academia.
The move follows criticism that it had given its own officials a majority of the seats on the committee.
Labor groups also accused the council of siding with business groups rather than workers after it came to light that Council of Labor Affairs Vice Minister Pan Shih-wei (潘世偉) had held a “secret” meeting with business groups on Wednesday.
The council said Pan met the business groups to discuss issues such as changes to the composition of the minimum wage committee and the need to mandate that minimum wage talks be held regularly every year.
Council officials said there was a lot of pressure to raise the minimum wage this year, especially after Hong Kong’s passage of a minimum wage law two weeks ago, as well as increasing business hiring amid an economic recovery.
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