Minimum monthly wage to rise to NT$30,900

NEGOTIATIONS: The committee review, the second-longest on record, trailing only a nine-hour session in 2018, resulted in the 11th consecutive year of wage increases

• By Lee Ching-huei / Staff reporter, with CNA

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Taiwan’s minimum monthly wage is set to rise to NT$30,900 next year from NT$29,500, exceeding NT$30,000 for the first time following a decision yesterday by the Ministry of Labor’s Minimum Wage Deliberation Committee.

The minimum hourly wage would also increase to NT$205 from NT$196, with both increases pending Cabinet approval.

The new rates are scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1 next year.

Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han, center, speaks to reporters after a meeting of the Minimum Wage Deliberation Committee in Taipei yesterday.

Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times

According to the Ministry of Labor, around 2.61 million workers in Taiwan, including 414,400 migrant workers, are expected to benefit from the minimum wage hike.

Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) in April said that he could “guarantee” the minimum monthly wage would exceed NT$30,000 next year.

The minimum wage increases would not apply to migrant workers employed as live-in caregivers or domestic helpers, as they are not covered by the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法).

The meeting, which began at 10am, continued until 5:30pm due to disagreements between labor and management representatives over the scale of the increase.

It was the second-longest minimum wage review on record, trailing only a nine-hour negotiation session in 2018.

The 4.745 percent hike marks the 11th consecutive year in which the minimum wage has increased.

Since 2016, the monthly wage has climbed 47.4 percent from NT$20,008 to the current NT$29,500, and the hourly wage has risen 63.3 percent from NT$120 to NT$196.

During the negotiations, the committee referenced a ministry research report that projected the consumer price index (CPI) would increase by 2.07 percent this year, while the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics had revised its estimate for the nation’s GDP growth this year to 11.05 percent.

Prior to the meeting, Chinese National Federation of Industries executive director Sam Ho (何語) cited customs export data to highlight a heavy imbalance in industrial development, saying that many sectors would struggle to absorb a uniform wage hike.

Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce secretary-general Chiu Yi-cheh (邱一徹) urged the committee to base its decision on the CPI while considering the practical financial pressures faced by various industries.

However, Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) said that the wage adjustment must reflect inflation to maintain the purchasing power and basic living standards of low-income workers.