On Workers' Day, demonstrators marched in Taipei and Kaohsiung, urging employer pension contributions to double from 6% to 12% and coverage to include migrant, live-in and small-firm workers.
The Taiwan Confederation of Trade Unions said AI-driven industrial change, the net-zero transition, ageing and low birthrates are worsening unstable employment, wage polarization and pension funding pressures.
The eight demands also seek higher insured salary caps, uncapped service years for payouts, bigger severance pay and equal pension treatment for migrant workers, civil servants and private-school teachers.
Could expanding pension coverage to all workers, including migrants and gig workers, create new inequalities or unforeseen problems in Taiwan's labor market?
With unions demanding sweeping pension reforms amid an aging society and AI disruption, can Taiwan realistically fund these changes without risking economic stability?
How might universal basic income or alternative welfare models reshape Taiwan’s approach to social security, and why do cultural attitudes pose such a challenge?