The Cabinet is calling for a sensible discussion of the minimum wage issue.
The Ministry of Labor is scheduled to convene a committee to review the minimum wage on Monday. Previously the Cabinet announced a policy that wage increases must be preceded by a 3% hike in consumer prices. But the Cabinet still decided to convene a committee to review the minimum wage even though consumer prices did not see a 3% rise. The Cabinet argued that a review is warranted because food prices rose by 3.8% for the first seven months of this year and 4.27% in July.
The Cabinet’s decision has been criticized by industry groups, who said the Cabinet should honor its own policy. In response, Cabinet spokesman Sun Lih-chyun said on Saturday that the consumer price index covers a wide range of items, including homes and cars, and therefore does not reflect the impact of rising prices on ordinary families. He also said the Cabinet hopes there will be a sensible discussion about the issue.