Eight of last year’s top 10 average salaries at companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) were at semiconductor companies, as high-tech firms benefited from robust global demand despite the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The TWSE salary data — including base salary, overtime pay, bonus and remuneration — showed that on the main board, IC designer Raydium Semiconductor Co had the highest average salary at NT$6.12 million (US$205,922), up 153.4 percent from a year earlier, while on the over-the-counter board, IC products supplier Sunplus Innovation Technology Inc had the highest at NT$3.95 million, up 35.4 percent.
Rounding out the top five firms on the main board with the highest average salaries were display driver IC designer Novatek Microelectronics Corp at NT$5.16 million, handset IC designer MediaTek Inc at NT$5.14 million, controller chip designer Sitronix Technology Corp at NT$4.95 million and networking chip designer Realtek Semiconductor Corp at NT$4.87 million.
The average salary at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) was NT$2.43 million, only 19th among listed semiconductor companies and 45th among firms listed on the main board. While the world’s largest contract chipmaker raised wages by 3 percent last year, TSMC will struggle to retain employees without more competitive salaries.
The TWSE data showed that most of the highest salaries were in the semiconductor, container shipping and financial industries. By contrast, Phoenix Tours International Inc had an average salary of only NT$239,000 last year, the lowest among listed companies on the main board, while commercial real-estate properties manager TRK Corp had an average salary of NT$297,000, the second-lowest on the main board.
Companies on the over-the-counter board that reported average salaries of less than NT$300,000 included An Shin Food Services Co — the operator of Taiwan’s second-largest fast-food chain, MOS Burger — sushi chain operator Kura Sushi Asia Co and Korean restaurant chain operator Tofu Restaurant Co. Average salaries were generally lower in the service industry, including the tourism and restaurant sectors, than in the technology, manufacturing and banking industries.
No single reason explains why average salaries in the services industry were so low. Factors include lower base salaries and stronger effects from the pandemic than in other industries. Structural factors in the industry foster low pay and atypical employment, while companies hire more hourly employees to lower personnel costs, although the government has raised the minimum monthly salary and hourly wage.
Employees are key company assets, so offering competitive salaries and benefits not only boost morale, but also ensure a company’s sustainable development and show that it is fulfilling its responsibility to society.
However, rising inflation has become an urgent issue for most regular employees as their paychecks are eroded by rising consumer prices. Government data released earlier this month showed that real average salaries in the first four months shrank 0.23 percent from a year earlier to NT$41,605 after factoring in consumer price increases.
While the government has committed to yearly minimum salary increases, and is pressuring listed companies to improve employee benefits and corporate governance, increasing inflationary pressure is weighing on the economy amid recurring COVID-19 outbreaks and Russia’s war against Ukraine, affecting food security and energy costs.
In addition to curbing inflation, the government and private-sector firms must collaborate on providing job opportunities for first-time jobseekers and seek ways to prevent people from dropping out of the workforce for too long.
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