The central government’s year-end bonuses of NT$130 billion (US$4.47 billion) for last year were a far cry from to the bonuses received by ordinary workers, which is ironic for a government claiming to stress fairness, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday.
“While 48 percent of more than 9 million salaried workers will not receive any bonus for their hard work last year, the government will be handing out a bonus of NT$130 billion to central government employees,” DPP Legislator Pan Men-an (潘孟安) told a press conference.
The year-end bonus includes NT$54.6 billion for central government agency employees, NT$38 billion for Enterprise Funds employees and NT$28.6 billion for Nonprofit Funds workers — to be received regardless of their performance, Pan said.
“And we have not even included the performance bonus,” he added.
The DPP caucus conducted a survey on the government agencies and 47 funds supervised by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the ministry’s Financial Supervisory Commission and found that civil servants received substantial bonuses.
For example, employees at the Taiwan Residential Earthquake Insurance Fund (住宅地震保險基金), Motor Vehicle Accident Compensation Fund (交通事故特別補償基金) and Taiwan Academy of Banking and Finances all received a bonus equivalent to between 3.5 and 4.6 times their monthly salaries despite being non-profit institutions, DPP Legislator He Hsin-chun (何欣純) said.
The caucus also found that most foundations with austerity budgets still allocate a 4.6 month annual bonus for their employees, he said.
“The practice could incite public rage against civil servants. The employees of these foundations and public funds should all be treated as government employees and be evaluated on their performance accordingly,” said DPP Legislator Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌).
If the government does not take action against the unfair practice, it would be the biggest contributor to the increasing wealth gap and social injustice in Taiwan, DPP Legislator Liu Chao-hao (劉櫂豪) said.
The navy’s new 10,600-tonne warship is on Tuesday to be christened the ROCN Yushan (玉山), as the nation’s indigenous shipbuilding program reaches a milestone, sources said yesterday. The vessel, previously referred to as the “new landing platform dock,” was at a shipyard with its name freshly painted on the hull with the number 1401, the Liberty Times (the sister paper of the Taipei Times) reported yesterday, citing an unnamed observer. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇), a member of the legislature’s National Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee, confirmed the report in a Facebook post. The NT$4.635 billion (US$163 million) ship is designed
DIALOGUE SOUGHT: Washington said it was concerned about the pattern of ongoing attempts to intimidate Taiwan after the 10th day of PLA activity in the region The US on Monday urged Beijing to stop its multifaceted pressure campaign against Taiwan after China sent 25 military jets into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone. “The United States notes with concern the pattern of ongoing PRC [People’s Republic of China] attempts to intimidate the region, including Taiwan,” a US Department of State spokesperson said in an e-mail response to questions. “We urge Beijing to cease its military, diplomatic and economic pressure against Taiwan, and instead engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan.” The Ministry of National Defense said that 25 Chinese military aircraft entered the zone on Monday. It was the 10th straight
INTERNATIONAL WEED DAY: Advocates are to hold a demonstration to push for the decriminalization of marijuana and allowing its use for treatment of certain conditions It is time for Taiwanese society to examine the medical benefits of cannabis, in line with the international trend to lift restrictions on and decriminalize the use of marijuana, two legislators said yesterday, ahead of tomorrow’s “Rally for Equal Rights for Cannabis” in Taipei. Taiwan is one of a few countries holding a “420 International Weed Day” event — which usually takes place around the April 20 weekend — as most nations have canceled it this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, said organizer Green Sensation, which is composed of doctors, lawyers and entertainers, among others. The group released a
‘NOT ENTHUSIASTIC’: People who have been approved by the CECC as special cases who need to travel, such as foreign diplomats, would be able to receive a vaccine The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday expanded the eligibility for COVID-19 vaccination to the fourth priority group — people who need to travel abroad for special reasons — adding that out-of-pocket vaccines would be available from Wednesday next week. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said although Taiwan’s COVID-19 vaccination program was on Monday expanded to include the top three groups in the priority list, people are still “not enthusiastic” about getting vaccinated. “Only 1,220 people received a vaccine shot on Tuesday, and a total of 27,113 people have received COVID-19 vaccination” so far, he