The Executive Yuan is to raise the salaries of temporary and contracted employees working for the central government starting next year, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said.
The budget for compensating temporary and contracted employees would be about NT$600 million (US$20.18 million), DGBAS Minister Chu Tzer-ming (朱澤民) said.
A larger budget was allocated to increase the average monthly wage of temporary and contracted employees from NT$25,000 to NT$30,000, Chu said, adding that the government would have 9,732 such employees.
Workers in these categories are not legally defined as public employees and their compensation is financed by the operational expenses of ministries and departments, he said.
Wages earned by employees of state-owned enterprises, public foundations or enterprises with state investments are not included the central government budget, he said.
However, adjustments to the wages of those workers could be done through employers’ budgets, he said.
In state-owned enterprises, 1,437 employees — comprising 1.3 percent of the total — earn less than NT$30,000 per month, and they predominantly work for Chunghwa Post or Taiwan Railways Administration.
Such workers are most likely to be employed by the former as service clerks, sorting and processing workers or delivery personnel, or by the later as ticket sales clerks, ticket inspectors or basic rail maintenance workers.
In foundations that receive public funding, 489 workers — or 1.9 percent of the total — earn less than NT$30,000 per month and most likely perform work that is non-technical, simple or repetitive.
In government-invested private enterprises, 276 employees — or 0.4 percent — earn less than NT$30,000 and are predominantly contract workers, interns and apprentices.
Such workers are most likely to be employed as administrative clerks, drivers, technicians, janitors or equipment operators.
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