MOL minimum wage committee to meet on Sept. 26

Taipei, Sept. 12 (CNA) A Ministry of Labor (MOL) committee is scheduled for Sept. 26 to decide whether Taiwan's minimum wage will be raised for 2026, the MOL said Friday.

Speaking with reporters, Huang Chi-ya (黃琦雅), director of the MOL's Department of Labor Standards and Equal Employment, said the ministry has sent notices to members of the Minimum Wage Deliberation Committee, which is composed of employer and labor representatives, government officials and scholars, about the meeting schedule.

According to the Minimum Wage Act, the MOL must hold a minimum wage deliberation meeting in the third quarter of each year.

Huang said the notice also included a suggestion from the MOL's wage research team regarding a possible minimum wage hike.

The committee has traditionally considered increases in the consumer price index and the strength of gross domestic product (GDP) growth.

Judging by those standards, market observers said the minimum wage could rise by about 4 percent next year. If approved, it would mark the 10th consecutive increase.

The Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) recently raised its 2025 GDP growth forecast to 4.45 percent from an earlier estimate of 3.10 percent, citing better-than-expected export performance.

The DGBAS also forecast the consumer price index will grow 1.76 percent in 2025.

The latest minimum wage increase took effect Jan. 1, raising the monthly wage to NT$28,590 (US$945) from NT$27,470, an increase of 4.08 percent, and the hourly wage to NT$190 from NT$183.

This was the first minimum wage increase since President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) took office on May 20, 2024.

The previous eight hikes occurred under former President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).

Earlier this month, labor groups urged the government not to use uncertainties created by U.S. tariff policies as an excuse to delay a minimum wage hike.

The warning came after Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said the tariffs could prompt some industries to furlough workers, and the number of furloughs has been on the rise.

Labor groups said Taiwan, which faces a 20 percent levy, is not alone in dealing with tariff issues.

Other economies that have faced similar tariffs, including Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Vietnam, have still decided to raise their minimum wages in 2026, said Yang Shu-wei (楊書瑋) of the Taiwan Labor Front.