DPP's Lai proposes higher wage requirements for future listed companies

Taipei, Nov. 15 (CNA) Providing salaries higher than the government's minimum wage should be required of companies seeking to go public, ruling Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) presidential nominee Lai Ching-te (賴清德) told a youth forum in Taipei on Wednesday.

Lai, who is the incumbent vice president, made the comment in response to a question by the Taiwan Labor Front about the problem of low wages in Taiwan.

Companies wishing to be listed on Taiwan's securities market and raise funds publicly ought to offer their employees more competitive wages, Lai said at the event attended by NGO representatives and students.

The presidential hopeful then proposed the minimum wage prerequisite, saying minimum monthly wages in future listed companies should be set at no less than NT$30,000 (US$937).

The country's minimum monthly wage is currently NT$26,400 and will rise to NT$27,470 next year.

However, Lai did not address concerns raised by the labor rights group about the government's plans to allow the hospitality industry to hire migrant workers for housekeeping and cleaning roles.

The Taiwan Labor Front has attributed the current labor shortage experienced by many hotels in Taiwan to their unwillingness to provide competitive salaries and argued that allowing them to bring in migrant workers does not solve the low wage problem.

Apart from raising the minimum wage, Lai said his government would roll out programs to foster highly skilled workers and promote industrial transition so that companies can provide better-paying jobs.

In addition, Lai expressed his support for the legislation of a youth law and pledged to work with representatives from student groups to continue refining his youth policy.

He added that his administration would continue to back the lowering of the voting age from the current 20 to 18 and collaborate with opposition parties on the issue.

Taiwan has been unable to lower the voting age to 18, in line with the international community, due to the high bar for constitutional amendments.

In March 2022, a bill seeking to lower the voting age cleared the Legislature with support across party lines and a national referendum on the issue was held, but it failed to pass after votes in favor of the change fell short of the threshold.

Lai was one of the two presidential nominees who agreed to attend Wednesday's youth forum co-hosted by the Taiwan Youth Association for Democracy and online media outlet NOWnews, in addition to the Chairman of the Taiwan People's Party Ko Wen-je (柯文哲).

Update

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