The labor ministry called a meeting on Monday to discuss the possibility of raising the minimum wage. While a quorum was met in order to hold the meeting, only 12 out of the 21 committee members showed up, and they were largely representing the interests of labor groups.
There were, however, some representatives from business organizations on hand. One representative from an industrial park association said he hoped that there would only be a small increase in the minimum wage, in order to avoid a major impact on employers.
Meanwhile, an official with the National Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, Lin Rong-tsan, said there was one precondition that had to be met in order for a minimum wage hike to be acceptable.
“The precondition is that the wages for [migrant workers] must be dealt with separately from the locals," said Lin. "If not, we are opposed to raising the minimum wage.
Right now the minimum wage for migrant workers is lower than that of Taiwanese workers.
But Labor Minister Chen Hsiung-wen disagreed with Lin’s suggestion that the wages for migrant workers be dealt with separately from local workers. Chen said he opposed the idea of having a double standard, because Taiwan is a country that upholds human rights.
The labor ministry is set to call another meeting on Friday to discuss the issue.