Most companies frown on the government’s suggestion that wages be increased next year, while only 93 percent could tolerate a 3 percent increase, as soaring materials and labor costs squeeze their profit margins, a survey released yesterday by the Chinese National Federation of Industries (CNFI, 全國工業總會) found.
The plea came one day before the Ministry of Labor is to discuss the matter, after floating an increase of at least 3 percent.
The Taipei-based trade group pressed the government to take a cautious approach, as a big majority of its member companies are seeing revenue and profit decline, even though Taiwan’s GDP growth is expected to hit 6 percent this year.
Photo: CNA
“A majority of the surveyed companies disagree with the proposed wage hike because only 17.5 percent of them have seen a pickup in sales and earnings, and would not be affected,” said the group, which consists of 159 associations and represents a majority of local manufacturers.
Local electronics suppliers have reaped a windfall from a surge in demand for devices used in distance learning and remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has restricted business in most other sectors, the survey showed.
Small and medium-sized enterprises have especially felt the pinch of spiking raw materials and labor costs as they have difficulty passing on extra costs to their customers, the group said.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
About 50 percent of manufacturers said that their revenue declined in the first three quarters of this year, while nearly 60 percent saw profitability weaken, it added.
Makers of textile products have fared worse, as 69 percent reported topline shrinkage and 78 percent experienced a decrease in their bottom line, it said.
Yesterday, Minister of Labor Hsu Ming-chun (許銘春) told a meeting of the legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee that she is confident a wage hike of at least 3 percent can be enacted next year given the nation’s vibrant economy.
However, Hsu stressed that the extent of the increase would not be determined until the ministry’s Minimum Wage Review Committee convenes today.
The current minimum monthly wage is NT$24,000, while the minimum hourly wage is NT$160.
If the minimum wage hike is confirmed, the government would focus on proving subsides to companies that have been financially affected by the COVID-19 crisis, Hsu said, declining to give further details.
She ruled out the possibility of only increasing the minimum wage in certain industries, saying that once the review committee reaches a decision and it is approved by the Cabinet, the policy would be rolled out in all sectors.
However, the CNFI survey showed that if the government insists on a pay hike, 93 percent of the polled companies said that they could only accept an increase of up to 3 percent, adding that a larger increase would hurt their operations.
The change would raise the minimum monthly wage to NT$24,720 and the minimum hourly wage to NT$164.8, the group said.
The government must not tackle the issue by generalizing that all companies are enjoying as strong earnings growth as local high-tech firms, the group added.
Local semiconductor firms lead their sector in the global market and make a significant contribution to the nation’s GDP growth, the group said.
Service-oriented sectors, on the other hand, have taken a hard hit from the COVID-19 situation over the past two years without a cure in sight yet, it said.
Additional reporting by CNA
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
SECURITY RISK: If there is a conflict between China and Taiwan, ‘there would likely be significant consequences to global economic and security interests,’ it said China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US and continues to make progress on capabilities to seize Taiwan, a report by US intelligence agencies said on Tuesday. The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations. In its Annual Threat Assessment, the agencies divided threats facing the US into two broad categories, “nonstate transnational criminals and terrorists” and “major state actors,” with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea named. Of those countries, “China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat