Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) chief Yiin Chii-ming (尹啟銘) told a legislative session yesterday that bonuses for employees of state-owned businesses had already been distributed, despite President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) comment during an interview with FTV on Tuesday that he would ask the ministry to determine whether such bonuses should be held off given the state of the economy.
During the interview, Ma said he had reminded the ministry to take public opinion into account.
At a legislative session yesterday, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lee Ching-hua (李慶華) asked Yiin whether the bonuses had been handed out.
“Yes, they have been distributed,” Yiin said.
Lee said he suspected Ma — and therefore the public — had been misled.
“I have not misled anyone,” Yiin said.
He said that he had discussed the matter with the president by telephone the previous day and that the ministry’s state-owned Enterprise Commission would evaluate regulations on the distribution of bonuses and make amendments within two months.
Yiin said the commission would amend the regulations according to “public opinion.”
“We will amend it, with the president’s concerns in mind,” he said.
Yiin said bonuses for employees of state-owned businesses were either performance-based or profit-based. While the former must be approved by the Research, Development and Evaluation Commission — with a final decision the following May — the latter requires the approval of the Ministry of Audit.
In other words, “it’s impossible to get this year’s bonus this year,” he said.
Asked if he would consider retracting the bonuses distributed so far this year, Yiin said there were no laws to justify such action. He said doing so would also have repercussions on employees’ tax filings and make matters more difficult.
In related news, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday urged Ma and government heads to donate their year-end bonuses to charity.
“In my view, the president is sending a blessing in disguise,” deputy DPP caucus whip Pan Meng-an (潘孟安) told a press conference at the DPP caucus office yesterday morning, in reference to Ma’s comments about the bonuses for employees of state-owned enterprises.
Pan said a total of NT$78.9 million (US$2 million) in year-end bonuses was expected to be issued to Ma and his Cabinet.
As state-owned companies have already issued year-end bonuses, Ma and government heads should give theirs to charity, he said.
“They do not deserve the bonuses, because they have made people suffer with their mishandling of the economy. In other words, they didn’t do a good job,” Pan said.
The Presidential Office yesterday was mum on whether Ma should take the lead in donating the year-end bonuses, saying that former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) year-end bonuses were larger than Ma’s.
Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said the timing was not right to discuss the matter.
Wang said that civil servants were likely to get 1.5 months for their year-end bonuses, adding that Ma would not get that much because he did not come into office until May 20.
Wang said Ma’s bonus was expected to be NT$462,300 rather than NT$690,000 as some have suggested, while Vice President Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) would receive NT$340,000 rather than NT$520,000.
Chen, on the other hand, is expected to receive NT$507,000, Wang said.
RSS