Taiwan minimum wage hike to benefit 2.61 million workers: Labor Ministry

Taipei, Sept. 24 (CNA) Around 2.61 million workers in Taiwan, including 414,400 migrant workers, are expected to benefit from a minimum wage hike approved by a Ministry of Labor (MOL) committee on Thursday, Labor Minister Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) said.

At its annual meeting, the Minimum Wage Deliberation Committee agreed to raise the monthly minimum wage by 4.745 percent, from NT$29,500 (US$927.41) to NT$30,900, and increase the hourly rate from NT$196 to NT$205.

The changes are scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2027, pending Cabinet approval.

Of the estimated 2.61 million beneficiaries, around 2.2 million are Taiwanese workers and 414,400 are migrant workers, accounting for 84 percent and 16 percent, respectively, Hung said at a news conference following the committee's daylong meeting.

Around 1.83 million workers will benefit from the monthly wage increase and 784,600 from the hourly hike, he added.

The minimum wage increases will not apply to migrant workers employed as live-in caregivers or domestic helpers, who are not covered by Taiwan's Labor Standards Act.

Hung said committee members representing labor, business, academia and government broadly agreed that a projected 2.07 percent annual increase in the consumer price index should be "fully reflected" in the adjustment.

However, they differed on how the benefits of Taiwan's economic growth, projected at 11.05 percent this year by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, should be shared with workers, he said.

"Labor representatives argued that the benefits of the 11.05 percent economic growth should be shared between workers and employers to the greatest extent possible, while employer representatives noted that industries in Taiwan have developed unevenly in recent years," Hung said.

A significant share of that growth has come from high-tech and artificial intelligence-related industries, Hung said, while traditional industries, service providers and smaller businesses have faced different economic conditions.

"We cannot simply look at the GDP growth figure alone" when deciding how the benefits of economic growth should be shared, Hung said, adding that the committee also had to consider employers' ability to pay.

Hung said there was "quite a large gap" between committee members' positions at the start of the negotiations, which continued until around 5:30 p.m. and lasted longer than in past years.

Their positions gradually converged, he said, with both labor and employer representatives making concessions before agreeing on NT$30,900.

The NT$1,400 monthly increase was among the largest in the past decade, Hung said. If approved by the Cabinet, the adjustment would mark the 11th consecutive annual minimum wage hike.

The committee's decision is also in line with earlier remarks by Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), who said in April that he could "guarantee" the minimum monthly wage would exceed NT$30,000 next year.