The Ministry of Labor yesterday announced that the minimum monthly wage would rise for a 10th consecutive year next year, although by less than what labor groups had been calling for.
Starting on Jan. 1, the minimum monthly wage is set to increase 3.2 percent to NT$29,500, while the minimum hourly wage would climb by the same percentage, from NT$190 to NT$196, the ministry said.
Both adjustments still require approval from the Executive Yuan, which is expected to be granted.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
The announcement followed a review by the Minimum Wage Deliberation Committee, which considered factors including growth in the consumer price index (CPI) and GDP.
The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) recently raised its GDP growth forecast for this year to 4.45 percent, up from a previous estimate of 3.1 percent, citing stronger-than-expected export performance.
The DGBAS also forecast that the CPI would grow 1.76 percent this year.
Labor groups felt the wage increase should have been closer to 4 percent.
They had urged the ministry to raise the minimum monthly wage to NT$29,734 and the minimum hourly wage to NT$198, saying that stronger increases were needed to help workers cope with rising living costs and to ensure they shared in the benefits of economic growth.
Adjustments of that size would better reflect inflation and increase the purchasing power of low-income workers, thereby supporting broader consumer demand, Taiwan Confederation of Trade Unions president Tai Kuo-jung (戴國榮) said.
As the salaries of public servants, teachers and military personnel rose by an average of 3 percent this year, the minimum wage should rise by at least the same margin, he added.
Persistent inflation and climbing living costs are eroding real wages, while Taiwan’s economy is forecast to expand by more than 4 percent next year, yet those gains have yet to reach grassroots workers, raising the risk of negative real wage growth and a widening wealth gap, Tai said.
Ahead of yesterday’s meeting, labor groups expressed concern that the government might cite US tariff policy, which imposes 20 percent duties on many goods imported from Taiwan, as a reason to limit the increase.
The wage increase is the second minimum wage hike since President William Lai (賴清德) took office on May 20 last year. The previous eight consecutive increases occurred during the administration of former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
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