Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC, 台灣高鐵) yesterday announced plans to raise employee wages by an average of 3 percent, effective from Oct. 1.
The wage hike came after Premier William Lai (賴清德) on Tuesday announced that the government is to raise the wages of government employees by 3 percent, with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Wednesday urging the private sector to follow suit.
However, after a meeting on Thursday of its board of directors approved the wage hike proposal, THSRC did not say the decision was in response to the government’s move, despite the government being its largest shareholder.
Under the THSRC plan, almost 90 percent of employees, or 3,870 mostly low and mid-level workers, are to see their paycheck grow next month.
The railway operator said that entry-level employees are to receive a wage increase of more than 6 percent.
THSRC said the move was designed to improve the company’s compensation structure by giving more to low-level employees, while also making its wages more competitive in the local employment market.
THSRC shares were unchanged at NT$25.35 in Taipei trading yesterday, compared with the broader market’s 0.25 percent increase, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
So far this year, the company’s stock price has advanced 37.77 percent, beating the 14.05 percent rise on the main bourse, exchange data showed.
The wage hike for government employees is to benefit about 580,000 civil servants and public-school teachers, as well as an undisclosed number of military personnel.
The Cabinet has estimated that the government’s pay hike will increase its annual payroll by NT$18 billion (US$598.5 million).
The Financial Supervisory Commission on Thursday said that 16 financial institutions in banking, securities and insurance under its control would implement a 3 percent wage hike for employees from January, while the Ministry of Finance on Wednesday said that some state-owned banks plan to hike salaries by 3 to 6 percent.
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