Proposed amendments to the Police Personnel Management Act (警察人員人事條例), which would grant entry-level police, firefighters and coast guard personnel a monthly raise of NT$1,370, yesterday cleared the legislative floor.
The salary hike was proposed in recognition of the laborious and dangerous nature of the their work, as well as the work of more than 28,000 of the nation’s approximately 64,000 police and firefighters who cannot be promoted under the current system, Minister of the Interior Yeh Jiunn-rong (葉俊榮) said.
The amendment raised the ceiling on seniority payments for fourth-tier — or entry-level — officers, firefighters and coast guard personnel, which would translate into an increase of NT$1,370 per month in seniority pay and about NT$1,600 in pension funds, allowing them to receive an additional NT$19,000 each year after retirement, the ministry said.
Civil servants’ salaries are composed of basic pay, seniority pay and a professional allowance.
The salary hike would benefit 28,00 people within the first year of its implementation and 30,000 within the first three years, with the number expected to increase to 66,000, Yeh said.
More than 80 percent of the nation’s public safety workers are in the fourth tier or lower, ministry statistics showed.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tsai Shih-ying (蔡適應) lauded the passage, saying that police and firefighters are the public’s first line of defense.
The wage hike is a gift to all public safety workers ahead of Police Day on June 15, Tsai said, adding that it signaled the first step toward improving their welfare.
However, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順) ridiculed Tsai’s remarks, saying that a raise that averages less than NT$50 a day makes the “gift” appear frivolous.
Police and firefighters’ overtime fees are jointly provided by the central and local governments, with the former contributing about NT$12,000 and the latter about NT$5,000 per person, Huang said.
However, local governments often default on their portion due to financial strain, leaving police and firefighters without proper overtime compensation, she said.
The KMT caucus proposed a supplementary clause in a bid to solve this problem before next year’s Police Day, she said, adding that the proposal was passed.
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