Survey finds that car importer tops festival bonuses

Employees of automobile importer Capital Motors Inc are to receive a Mid-Autumn Festival bonus of three months' salary today, the highest in both the public and private sectors, according to a survey released yesterday.

In comparison, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chiu Yeong-jen (邱永仁) yesterday encouraged employees of state-owned companies to work hard, saying that their efforts merited an average NT$1,814 bonus, which is NT$442 more than their counterparts working for private companies.

"A survey of companies' Mid-Autumn Festival employees rewards says that state-owned enterprises on average rewarded their personnel NT$1,814," Chiu said.

The survey was conducted between Sept.1 and Sept. 5 by an independent polling company commissioned by Chiu.

The Bank of Taiwan came out on top of the list of 14 national enterprises interviewed in the survey by giving employees a bonus of NT$4,500.

Coming in second were Taiwan Sugar Corp, Chinese Petroleum Corp and Taiwan Cooperative Bank which granted a bonus of NT$3,000 to staff.

Extra gift certificates were offered to personnel of the Bank of Taiwan, the survey said.

The considerable reward granted by state-run companies was interpreted by the lawmaker as an indication that the goal to upgrade the efficiency of the enterprises has been obtained. He said the bonuses also reward personnel for their collaboration with reforms.

He suggested that the government-run enterprises should apply a performance-appraisal system to pursue improved efficiency and production.

"The state-owned companies should study the possibility of applying [an improved] performance-appraisal system to determine individualized bonuses," Chiu advised.

Employees of the Taiwan Railway Administration, on the other hand, received the smallest bonus -- NT$400.

Workers in non-government companies or corporations were given a festival bonus of NT$1,372 on average, amid a wide variation of bonuses that were reported.

The lawmaker said that the government's goal to upgrade the operation and efficiency of state enterprises was obtained, justifying the rewards.

A local automobile manufacturer was the second most generous private company, according to the survey, giving its staff a bonus of one month's salary.

But 12 percent of 1,455 interviewees will get nothing this holiday since their companies either made a loss in the first half of this year or bonuses are covered by other forms of compensation, such as the year-end bonus, the survey said.