Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City councilors yesterday lashed out at Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) for giving employees year-end bonuses equal to several months’ salary despite frequent malfunctions on the Wenshan-Neihu Line.
The company budgeted more than NT$700 million (US$20 million) for year-end bonuses, performance bonuses and five other types of bonuses this year. Top officials, including president Lin Chung-yih (林崇一) and general manager Tsai Hui-sheng (蔡輝昇), will receive bonuses of up to six months’ salary.
Other employees will receive a two-month year-end bonus and a one-month performance bonus, DPP city councilors Lee Wen-ying (李文英) and Wang Hsiao-wei (王孝維) said.
“The Neihu Line has experienced 118 service suspensions since it began operations on July 4, which caused great inconvenience to passengers. Yet TRTC officials will receive big bonuses and put the problems of the Neihu Line behind them,” Lee said at the Taipei City Council.
Wang said both Lin and Tsai will each receive more than NT$700,000 in bonuses this year, while deputy general managers and other first-level officials will receive more than NT$400,000.
“TRTC increased the year-end bonuses year by year, but failed to solve the problems facing the Neihu Line,” he said.
Cheng Sheng-tai (鄭勝泰), deputy director of TRTC’s personnel department, said the year-end bonuses and other bonuses were listed in accordance with the regulations on governmental agencies’ salaries and bonuses approved by the legislature in 1997.
TRTC has not finalized the size of the bonuses, Cheng said, adding that top officials would not receive performance bonuses because those were given to lower-level employees.
Wang urged Lin and Tsai to cut their salaries and give up their year-end bonuses to provide more bonus money for hardworking employees.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said he would talk to TRTC about the issue, but added that its employees have been working hard to resolve the Neihu Line problems.
“It is true that the operations of the Neihu Line have not been stable, but TRTC is under great pressure to improve the situation. I think the employees are working hard to resolve the problems,” he said.
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