The Ministry of Labor yesterday announced that the minimum hourly and monthly wages would be raised to NT$150 and NT$23,100, marking an increase of 5 percent and 7.14 percent respectively, after concluding a record-long deliberation with representatives of workers’ groups, companies and academics.
The new wages are to take effect on Jan. 1, the ministry said.
“The results are unacceptable,” said Taiwan Confederation of Trade Unions president Chuang Chueh-an (莊爵安), who represented workers at the meeting. “The ministry evidently favored employers [in its decision].”
Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
Workers’ groups had called for the minimum monthly wage to be increased from NT$22,000 to NT$28,862 and for the minimum hourly rate to be raised from NT$140 to NT$182.
Chinese National Federation of Industries standing director Sam Ho (何語), who represented employers at the meeting, said that companies’ overhead is estimated to increase by NT$39 billion per year as a result of the salary adjustments.
That could be the last straw, causing many small and medium-sized companies to fold, which would affect youth employment, he said.
Companies are not optimistic about the state of the economy in the latter half of this year due to the increased wages, he added.
With the global economy shaken by an intensifying US-China trade war and the depreciation of the Turkish lira, Taiwanese industries might be hit hard, he said.
While companies are not happy with the results, they will have to comply with the ministry’s final decision, Ho said.
Employers should take care of their employees, but whether employers could manage a sustainable business model should also be factored into the equation, especially in Taiwan, where small and medium-sized enterprises comprise 98 percent of the industrial sector, he added.
The service sector could be hit especially hard, as higher basic wages would in turn drive up prices, as businesses try to compensate for additional expenses, he said.
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