The Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center recently advised the cash-strapped Veterans and Veterans’ Dependents Foundation to reduce the benefits it grants to its staff, which are better than what civil servants are entitled to.
The center recently said that the foundation not only allots 1.5 months of pay to its workers for year-end bonuses, in line with the standard for civil servant benefits, it also grants special bonuses during three major holidays — Lunar New Year, the Dragon Boat Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival — and NT$35,000 as a performance bonus for each senior employee evaluated as having performed well.
The center said those benefits surpassed those enjoyed by public servants and should be eliminated.
During deliberation over the central government’s general budget for 2013, the Legislative Yuan passed a resolution stating that foundations established with government aid are under the aegis of government policies, they are public interest groups and should act as such, the center said.
The resolution stipulated that such entities adhere to the standards for civil servants when allocating bonuses.
The center’s report said the Veterans and Veterans’ Dependents Foundation this year allocated NT$650,100 for eight senior employees’ bonuses — including their 1.5 month year-end bonuses, which totaled NT$386,000; bonuses totaling NT$200,000 for senior workers with good performance evaluations; and NT$65,000 for the three holidays’ special bonuses.
According to data provided with the report, the foundation has been doling out special bonuses, excluding year-end bonuses, from 2011 to this year.
Senior workers with good performance evaluations received up to NT$39,000 per person in 2011, which was adjusted to NT$35,000 the next year.
The Lunar New Year bonuses ranged from NT$3,000 to NT$6,000 per person, with bonuses for the other two festivals ranging between NT$2,000 and NT$5,000.
The center’s report also revealed that the foundation had been operating with a budget deficit from 2011 to last year, and it called on the Veterans Affairs Council to urge the foundation to draw up cost-cutting measures to make it self-sufficient and balance the books.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
RSS