The Taiwan government has approved a 4.05 percent increase in the monthly minimum wage for all workers in the industrial sector that will also benefit migrants, including overseas Filipinos workers, the Manila Economic and Cultural Office reported on Thursday.
MECO chairman Silvestre H. Bello III said the wage adjustment, which takes effect on January 1, 2024, will cover the 124,265 Filipino factory workers in Taiwan. The increase will not apply to live-in migrant caregivers and household service workers who are not covered by the Taiwan Labor Standards Act, he added.
“On September 13, 2023, the Taiwan ministry of labor announced that the Cabinet has approved its proposed increase in the monthly minimum wage effective next year” Bello said.
From NT$26,400 (US$ 838), the monthly minimum pay will be increased to NT$27,470 (US$872) starting next year, while the basic hourly rate is raised from NT$176 to NT$183.
The wage hike marks the eighth consecutive year that the minimum wage has been raised since 2016.
Bello said the labor ministry’s wage increase proposal came in response to help workers in the industrial sector to cope with the surging inflation and higher costs of basic necessities.
The ministry’s Wage Committee, represented by government officials and representatives of workers and employers, believes that company owners/employers should share a fairer proportion of economic growth to their employees/workers who in one way or another contributed to the growth and development of industry sector in Taiwan, Bello said.
“The Ministry hopes that increasing working-class income will boost productivity and that the increased minimum wages will provide for the basic living necessities of marginal workers as well as spur domestic consumption and economic growth, thereby creating a win-win situation for both labor and management,” Bello said quoting the labor ministry announcement.
There are about 1.79 million salaried employees and 600,000 hourly workers in Taiwan, including migrants.
Bello added that those Filipinos who will be hired in Taiwan until December 31 this year will also be entitled to the new wage rates.
There are about 154,000 Filipinos staying in Taiwan.
