The next minimum wage hike is expected to exceed NT$30,000, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday during an award ceremony honoring “model workers,” including migrant workers, at the Presidential Office ahead of Workers’ Day today.
Lai said he wished to thank the awardees on behalf of the nation and extend his most sincere respect for their hard work, on which Taiwan’s prosperity has been built.
Lai specifically thanked 10 migrant workers selected for the award, saying that although they left their home countries to further their own goals, their efforts have benefited Taiwan as well.
Photo courtesy of the Presidential Office
The nation’s industrial sector and small businesses lay the foundation for Taiwan’s high-tech industry, Lai said.
It is the hard work of the nation’s laborers that helped produce 8.68 percent economic growth last year, the best in 15 years, he said, adding that Taiwan’s historic stock market performance was also due to their hard work.
The government would continue to increase the competitive edge of Taiwan’s industrial sector and ensure vocational stability, as well as improve working conditions and increase benefits, Lai said.
“We must ensure that all citizens share the fruits of economic growth,” Lai said, adding that for that to happen, the government must pursue the goals of dignified work and friendly vocational environments.
The wage increase on New Year’s Day marked the 10th consecutive year that Taiwan has raised its basic wage, from NT$20,008 in 2016 to NT$29,500, or NT$196 per hour, this year.
More than 2.47 million laborers benefited from the wage hike regardless of nationality, Lai said.
Government subsidies to the Labor Pension Fund have been formalized in an amendment to the Labor Insurance Act (勞工保險條例), and the government would continue to review the fund’s financial structure to ensure its long-term sustainability, Lai said.
The government has been injecting money into the fund since the administration of former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to ensure that laborers would receive their pensions when they retire, he said.
The new maternity and paternity leave system, ramped-up efforts by corporations to ensure on-site childcare and expanded pregnancy subsidies, are all intended to reduce burdens on the younger generation, Lai said.
He also said that workers’ dignity should become a focus for industries as they improve and become more profitable.
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