Cabinet will respect CLA's decision on wage: Chen

However, before a decision is made on the issue, consideration should be given to whether it will help to improve the distribution of wealth and its impact on the industrial sector, he said.

At present, some 1.2 million workers in Taiwan, including 170,000 foreign laborers, are being paid the minimum wage of NT$17,280 per month, Chen noted.

A CLA committee responsible for reviewing the minimum wage is scheduled to hold its annual meeting Sept. 13 to discuss whether to raise the wage.

Labor rights groups proposed recently that the minimum wage be increased to NT$22,000 per month to help narrow the wealth gap.

However, in a joint statement issued Friday, the leaders of Taiwan's six major industrial and commercial organizations called for less government interference in the issue.

They argued that wages should be decided by the market mechanism and should not be subject to regular, man-made adjustments.

As the minimum wage requirement also applies to foreign workers in Taiwan, raising the wage level will result in higher foreign labor cost in Taiwan, the industry leaders said.

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