The inaugural meeting of the Minimum Wage Deliberation Committee was held on Wednesday following the implementation of the Minimum Wage Act launched on January 1 of this year. A total of 21 members representing labor, employer, governmental, and academic interests, participated in the meeting to determine next year’s minimum wage adjustment.
The labor representative, Taiwan Federation of Trade Unions Chairperson Dai Kuo-jung (戴國榮) argued that the adjustment should reflect the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and shared economic growth. He suggested a 4.12% adjustment, though the labor side is willing to target a 4% increase.
On the other hand, the employer representative, Chinese National Federation of Industries Director Ho Yu (何語) supported adjusting the minimum wage under President Lai Ching-te’s (賴清德) administration and illustrates that Taiwan's wage purchasing power is strong, even comparable to that of Germany.
In her opening remarks, Labor Minister Ho Pei-shan (何佩珊), expressed that she’s honored to work alongside committee members and, with their wisdom and experience, aims to protect the well-being of the bottom 20% of earners in this first review. Ho commented that today’s minimum wage review, drawing from ten years of past experience, involves rational communication and final negotiations between labor and employer representatives to propose the best solution.