STARTING January 1, 2024, the minimum wage for all workers in Taiwan will be increased by 4.05 percent or worth NT$1,070 (P1,900).
The Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) said there are 124,265 Filipino factory workers in Taiwan and they will also benefit from the wage adjustment.
The Taiwanese ministry of labor announced Wednesday that the Taiwanese Cabinet has approved their proposal to increase the monthly minimum wage.
The current minimum wage is NT$26,400 (Php 46,926) and the minimum hourly wage from NT$176 (Php 312) to NT$183 (Php 325).
Starting January 1, 2024, the monthly minimum wage will be increased to NT$27,470 (Php 48,828), or additional Php1,902 to their paycheck.
MECO chairman Silvestre H. Bello III said those Filipinos who will be hired in Taiwan until December 31 this year will also be entitled to the new wage rates.
However, the increase will not apply to live-in migrant caregivers and household service workers because they are excluded from the Labor Standards Act in Taiwan.
The wage hike marks the eighth consecutive year that the minimum wage has been raised since 2016.
Taiwanese labor groups have been asking for a 6 percent increase in wages to cope with the surging inflation and higher costs of basic necessities.
“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,” the labor ministry said.
There are about 1.79 million salaried employees and 600,000 hourly workers in Taiwan, including
341,800 migrants. About 154,000 of them are Filipinos, the majority are employed in the factories.
Image credits: Lisanto 李奕良/Unsplash
