Most Taiwan firms reject proposed minimum wage hike
- Claire Lee
The majority of firms in Taiwan would only accept a minimum wage hike of up to 3%, which is well below the 11% hike encouraged by labour unions, revealed a survey by the Chinese National Federation of Industries (CNFI).
About 76% of 209 survey respondents shared this sentiment, while 22% were against any minimum wage hike for 2023.
The Taiwan Confederation of Trade Unions (TCTU), one of the major labour unions in the country, urged the Ministry of Labour to raise the minimum wage by about 11% or NT$2,750 (US$90.75) to NT$28,000 (US$918) for 2023.
CNFI highlighted that many SMEs earned relatively low profits and would pass on the impact from a wage hike to their customers by raising product prices, which could lead to higher inflation, increase the financial burden on the public, and create more problems for society, reported Focus Taiwan.
The survey was conducted from August 1 to 15, with 62% of respondents comprising SMEs.
READ: Taiwan trade group pushes for minimum wage hike cap
On Monday, several labour unions in Taiwan voiced out that the government should raise the minimum wage to NT$28,000 for 2023 as rising inflation has hurt purchasing power.
