Premier Jiang Yi-huah said today that the Executive Yuan's earlier decision to raise the minimum monthly wage will be independent of the government's estimate of first-quarter 2013 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth.
"Laborers are indispensable to Taiwan's economic growth, and safeguarding their rights and interests is a high priority of the government," Jiang said. "We hope this policy will put citizens at ease about making ends meet and prepare the economy for the next wave of development."
The Executive Yuan decided in early April to increase the nation's minimum monthly wage to NT$19,047 (US$643), retroactive to April 1, 2013, based on the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics' (DGBAS) February 22 data that year-on-year GDP growth for the fourth quarter of 2012 was 3.72 percent and estimate that first-quarter 2013 GDP growth would reach 3.26 percent. Furthermore, the unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2013 dropped while job opportunities doubled, proof that the economy is slowly recovering.
However, the decision was called into question after DGBAS released this morning its latest estimate of first-quarter GDP growth, a surprisingly low 1.54 percent, practically half its February figure.
The Executive Yuan approved a proposal on September 28, 2012 to increase the minimum hourly wage to NT$109 (US$3.68) beginning January 1, 2013 but held back on raising the monthly basic wage, citing factors such as the European debt crisis, economic strength and the national employment level. It noted, however, that a raise of the minimum monthly wage would be approved if the nation's GDP growth topped 3 percent for two consecutive quarters or the unemployment rate was below 4 percent for two consecutive months.
"The Executive Yuan's decision in early April is one that takes into consideration the overall development of finance, production and the labor market," Jiang said.
Executive Yuan officials noted the DGBAS will adjust the first-quarter 2013 GDP growth figure again in late May. If the Executive Yuan had not decided on the minimum monthly wage adjustment until then, it would have incurred problems with retroactive calculation of wages, overtime payment, labor insurance and administrative expenses as well as disputes related to retirees and resignees, which would benefit neither laborers nor the economy, Jiang pointed out.
"The government will always work together with laborers, listening to them with an open mind and basing its decisions upon their welfare," the premier declared.