Premier Jiang Yi-huah says a committee will soon convene to discuss a possible increase to the minimum wage. He also indicates that the government may remove a policy that wage increases must be preceded by a 3% annual increase in consumer prices.
While receiving representatives of major labor groups on Friday, Jiang said the committee would submit its suggestions to the Ministry of Labor. The minimum hourly wage in Taiwan now stands at NT115 (US$3.84), while the minimum monthly wage is NT$19,273 (about US$643).
Jiang said when the minimum wage is raised, the average salary usually rises accordingly. Such a change would be welcomed by Taiwanese employees, who have seen average real wages remain largely stagnant over the past 15 years despite rising costs.
The premier also expressed concerns that the consumer price index covers a wide range of items, including homes and cars, and does not reflect the impact of rising prices on ordinary families. He cited the example of food prices, saying that the annual increase reached 3.8% for the first seven months of this year and 4.27% in July. He said that’s a sharp growth that is felt especially acutely by the working class.