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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Minimum wage increased 4.72％
Labor advocates hold up signs showing their recommended minimum wage of NT$27,711 per month at a news conference prior to the start of the Ministry of Labor’s minimum wage review committee meeting in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
By Abraham Gerber / Staff Reporter
The minimum wage is to be raised 4.72 percent to NT$22,000 （US$725） per month and to NT$140 per hour from January next year, the Ministry of Labor Minimum Wage Review Committee announced yesterday, as industry representatives accused the government of interfering in the review process.
“There was a consensus that a raise was needed, but the amount was passed by a majority,” Minister of Labor Lin Mei-chu （林美珠） said after the day-long review session. “I did not issue a ruling, a decision that could be accepted by the majority was made after discussions and collecting everyone’s views.”
The raise comes after a 5 percent increase last year.
“We are not satisfied, but the result is acceptable,” said Hsinchu County Union Federation president Chen Fu-chun （陳福俊）, a committee member, adding that labor representatives hoped a similar adjustment would be implemented every year.
Chinese National Federation of Industries standing director Sam Ho （何語） accused Lin of making a political decision, saying that she took a telephone call before asking the committee’s “third side” of state officials and government-appointed academics to push through the final figure.
That group makes up one-third of the committee’s 21 members, making them a decisive vote between labor and business interests, which each also hold a third of the committee seats.
Government officials “were completely unwilling to listen” to industry representatives, Ho said, adding that the representatives left the meeting because they were not satisfied with how the decision was made.
The new minimum wage would increase corporate costs by NT$30 billion annually, Ho said.
Department of Labor Standards and Equal Employment Director Hsieh Chien-chien （謝倩蒨） confirmed the committee’s “third side” had proposed the final figure after a day of negotiations, while declining to specify whether a government official or academic had first introduced the figure.
She said that Lin did not bring her mobile phone to the meeting, with the ministry stating that Lin “did not take any calls” during the meeting.
“This is the increase that government agencies had in mind,” said Cheng Chih-yu （成之約）, a professor at the Institute for Labor Research at National Chengchi University, adding that government agencies had previously sought to win the approval of industry and labor representatives.
If economic conditions remain stable, a further increase of about 5 percent is likely over the next few years because “no matter who is the minister of labor, they will feel the pressure,” he said.
Lin refused to comment on whether the ministry was satisfied with the increase or how much she thinks the minimum wage should be raised, saying that the decision should be left to the committee.
The proposed increase is to be sent to the Executive Yuan for approval.
Additional reporting by CNA
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
