EasyCard Corp’s salary structure is to be reviewed, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday.
Ko said that the last time corporate officers made a presentation to city officials, he discovered that the average yearly compensation for personnel was NT$1.5 million (US$48,890), adding that he had ordered the firm to report to him on its salary structure.
Ko’s comments followed allegations by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei city councilors Yen Sheng-kuan (顏聖冠) and Hsieh Wei-chou (謝維洲) on Wednesday that the firm had provided sinecure positions to well-connected scions, citing “senior commissioners,” such as Wu Hsin-yi (伍心頤), daughter of former minister of national defense Wu Shih-wen (伍世文).
“EasyCard Corp needs to have clear employment standards, rather than hiring people based solely on introductions,” Yen said. “There is no way for the many people without connections to be hired by the firm.”
She added that the corporation has also been used to profit a firm run by an associate of former Taipei mayor Hau Lung-bin’s (郝龍斌) father, former premier Hau Pei-tsun (郝柏村). A set of contracts between the Uupon Corp under the EasyCard Investment and Holdings Co and Top Cloud Technology have farmed out most of the company’s functions, in effect turning Uupon Corp into a “shell corporation,” she said, adding that unfair contract provision also inflated Top Cloud’s compensation.
She said Top Cloud chairman Kuo Yun (果芸) was formerly an officer who served under Hau Pei-tsun, a retired general.
EasyCard Corp chairman Tai Chi-chuan (戴季全) said the firm’s overall compensation structure had aspects that required review, adding that the firm would establish a compensation committee and improve its hiring standards.
Sources within EasyCard Investment and Holdings Co said the corporation had recently reviewed Uupon’s contracts with Top Cloud and was seeking to revise “unreasonable” provisions.
Additional reporting by Kuo Yi
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