Taiwan’s Minimum Wage Review Committee needs to make a long overdue decision to increase minimum wage in 2020.

The News Lens
Date: 2019/08/01
By: Roy Ngerng

Roy Ngerng writes on social issues and equality. He was also named a Human Rights Defender by the United Nations and believes that human rights and social justice will enable fairer, happier and more compassionate societies.

Taiwan’s Minimum Wage Review Committee will be meeting on August 14 to discuss increasing minimum wage for Taiwanese workers in 2020.

In view of the upcoming discussion, let’s compare the state of minimum wage and economic conditions between Taiwan and South Korea, since both had followed similar developmental pathways in the past decades.

Taiwan’s Reluctance to Increase Minimum Wage

Taiwanese businesses have refused to increase minimum wage claiming that this would result in higher unemployment, but in fact they are in fear of losing their profits. In July, Nelson Chang (張安平), chairman of Taiwan Cement Corporation, opposed the government’s minimum wage increase proposaland said that wages should be linked to productivity.     [FULL  STORY]