Civil servants form a vital part of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) voting base, so a salary cut is certainly not on the government’s agenda. It would be reasonable, however, not to give them performance bonuses, because their performance should reflect the rise or fall in public welfare.
When the economy is down and public welfare suffers, civil servants’ performance should no longer be rewarded by bonuses. A good work attitude should be a matter of duty, not a reason to grant them bonuses. For example, considering the massive deficit over the past few years, the Bureau of National Health Insurance should stop its practice of granting workers performance bonuses on the ground that its total business volume is still growing.
According to the Ministry of Civil Service, the performance of 74 percent of civil servants was rated “excellent,” making them eligible for a performance bonus equal to one month’s salary. The performance of 25 percent was considered “good,” entitling them to half a month’s bonus.
Given that there are around 600,000 civil servants, their performance bonuses would add up to NT$33 billion each year. If we used this money to pay for more consumer vouchers, each citizen, including civil servants, could receive NT$5,000 in vouchers and possibly better stimulate consumption.
Liang Wen-chieh is the deputy director of New Society for Taiwan.
TRANSLATED BY EDDY CHANG
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