Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday quickly turned down a proposal by Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) for a salary raise for civil servants, a bid that was also criticized by the mayor’s opponent in November’s election as an attempt to win votes.
Joined by several Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators, Hau proposed a 1 percent to 2 percent salary raise for entry-level government employees, saying it would encourage the private sector to follow suit and stimulate consumption.
“Most civil servants work really hard. A pay raise would push for salary adjustments in the private sector and would be recognition of civil servants’ hard work,” Hau told a press conference at Taipei City Hall.
The mayor’s proposal was at odds with a Cabinet decision on Monday last week to withhold pay increases for government employees, military personnel and teachers next year in consideration of the economic situation facing both the public and private sectors.
Government employees received a 3 percent pay raise in 2001 and another rise in 2005. The Central Personnel Administration said a pay raise for all public servants would require a budget of NT$21.4 billion (US$671 million), which would add to the burden on debt-laden local governments.
Hau said that as the third-quarter GDP forecast for Taipei was expected to beat that in the second quarter, a 1 percent to 2 percent raise for entry-level public servants would not cause financial difficulties for the city government.
The proposal was challenged by the opposition camp, with Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei mayoral candidate Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) accusing Hau of attempting to buy votes, adding that Hau should instead concentrate on municipal issues.
“Hau’s intentions behind the proposal are obvious. What civil servants need is dignity. I also want to remind Hau that the election is a local-level election and that we should focus on local issues,” Su said.
Hau denied the proposal was to attract votes from civil servants, already a major support base for the KMT, adding that the raise would not take effect until next year.
“Please do not find fault with everything. The election is held this year and the pay raise, if it happens, would take effect next year,” he said.
KMT legislators Alex Fai (費鴻泰), Chiang Nai-shin (蔣乃辛) and Pan Wei-kang (潘維剛) backed Hau’s proposal and vowed to join the mayor to lobby the Cabinet.
The required budget for a 1 percent pay raise for government officials would be NT$7 billion, or 0.45 percent of the general budget, Fai said.
Chiu Da-chan (邱大展), commissioner of Taipei City’s Department of Finance, said a 1 percent pay raise would cost the city government NT$400 million.
The proposal was vetoed by Wu, who said there remained too much uncertainty over the state of the economy in the second half.
Wu said the Executive Yuan would not consider a raise for the time being, as signs of slowing growth in the US, Europe, Japan and China created uncertainty over Taiwan’s economic recovery.
However, Wu said the central government would consider requesting additional budgets to give public officials a small raise if there were obvious signs of economic recovery and improving government finances.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG
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