Labor groups called on the government to raise basic salaries on Monday ahead of an upcoming minimum wage review scheduled later this week.
The Taiwan Labour Front (台灣勞工陣線), Taiwan Federation of Financial Unions (全國金融業工會聯合總會), Taiwan Youth Association for Democracy (台灣青年民主協會) and other labor groups held a joint press conference urging the government to raise the national minimum wage by more than 3.5%. They also demanded that the wage hike be enacted as soon as possible.
Chairman of the Confederation of Taipei Trade Unions (台北市產業總工會理) Chiu I-kan (邱奕淦) pointed out that the salary increase for civil servants has already been announced at 4%. He says an increase of only 3.5% for the national minimum wage would therefore be insufficient.
Chiu says that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) made a campaign promise to raise the monthly minimum wage to NT$30,000 (US$940) before the end of her second term. To meet this goal, a raise of 13% would be required, as the national minimum wage is currently at NT$26,400 (US$828). Chiu says such a raise would not be unprecedented, as wages increased by 13% during the 1980s.
The labor ministry’s Minimum Wage Review Committee will convene on September 8 to discuss the minimum wage increase for next year. The committee is composed of representatives from the labor, business, academic, and government sectors. The meeting will be the committee’s last during President Tsai Ing-wen’s term.