TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Tuesday (Aug. 25) announced that the minimum monthly wage will be raised at the start of next year and that a new minimum wage law is in the works.

During a ceremony recognizing the nation's model workers and their families at the Presidential Office, Tsai said the Cabinet had approved increasing the monthly minimum wage by 0.84 percent, from NT$23,800 (US$810) to NT$24,000, at the beginning of 2021. In addition, the hourly wage will see a 1.3 percent increase, rising from NT$158 to NT$160.

This will mark the fifth time the monthly minimum wage has been increased since Tsai took office. However, it is the smallest increase since a freeze in 2016.

Addressing the controversy over the smaller size of the increase, Tsai emphasized that the government has made its best effort to continue raising the minimum wage despite the economic impact of the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic in order to encourage grassroots and hourly wage laborers. Tsai then announced that plans are in the works to create a new minimum wage law, reported CNA.

Tsai said the new law would be designed to systemize the mechanism for wage increase reviews and indexes. She also pointed out that the Labor Incident Act, which officially entered force at the start of this year, is designed to provide workers with more protection in legal disputes with employers.

The president pledged that the government will invest more resources in protecting labor rights through regulations and policies. She then thanked all workers for their willingness to cooperate with the government during this time as they face the challenges of the pandemic together.