No pay raise for public servants: Su

Public teachers and military officers who were hoping for a raise will be disappointed to learn that the government has no plans to hike salaries.

Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said yesterday that the Cabinet had decided last year that civil servants, teachers and military personnel would not be given a raise this year, adding that the government had no plans to reconsider its decision.

Su responding to a report by the Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday which said the premier -- a contender for the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) nomination for the 2008 presidential election -- would announce a few more positive policies, including hiking the salaries of government officials, teachers and military officers and raising the minimum wage.

Su nothing had been finalized concerning basic wages so far.

"The Council of Labor Affairs will hold a regular meeting to review the matter this May, and the Cabinet will take everything into consideration," he said. "We are still evaluating opinions from all sides, and nothing has been decided yet."

Asked reporters whether he had made use of administrative resources to campaign for himself, Su said the question did not apply as he had not yet been picked as the DPP's presidential nominee.

Asked comment on the same issue yesterday, DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun, another contender for the DPP's presidential nomination, said he has taken leave as DPP chairman to ensure fair competition among the party's presidential hopefuls.

Meanwhile, Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) said the question should be whether contenders for the party nomination should resign or ask for leave from their government posts.