Taiwan to boost min wage by 6%

The Ministry of Labor and Ministry of Economic Affairs are both indicating that Taiwan will raise the minimum wage next year, possibly by up to 6%.

The Minimum Wage Review Committee is scheduled to discuss the matter on Oct. 8 after delaying its annual meeting in August due to the pandemic. Both Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua and Labor Minister Hsu Ming-chun have publicly expressed support for raising the minimum wage.

During a session of the Legislative Yuan on Wednesday (Sept. 29), Hsu said that government agencies have reached a “consensus on and have expectations of” such an increase. Hsu said that she supports a minimum wage hike but that it will be up to the committee to decide the amount of the increase.

During a radio interview on Wednesday, National Development Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin said that given that the economic growth rate this year is expected to exceed 6%, the minimum wage increase “can be a bit larger.”

Liu Shih-hao dean of the Ming Chuan University School of Law and former deputy labor minister, told the newspaper that considering the economic situation and price levels this year, the minimum wage is expected to be raised by 6% to 8%. On its Facebook page on Monday (Sept. 27), the labor rights group 2020工人鬥總統 called for an increase of 8% to NT$26,000 per month.

Currently, the monthly minimum wage stands at NT$24,000 (US$860), while the hourly minimum wage is NT$160. Raising the monthly minimum wage by 6% would boost it to NT$25,440 per month, an increase of NT$1,440 over the present rate.

Agencies