Employees at the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s (MOHW) 26 hospitals nationwide are to get a 4 percent pay raise effective January next year, while nurses at 21 of those hospitals would have received additional pay increases by the end of this month.
The across-the-board 4 percent pay raise in January is aimed at addressing an acute employee shortage at MOHW medical institutions, Yang Nan-ping (楊南屏), deputy executive director of the ministry’s Hospital and Social Welfare Organizations Administration Commission, said yesterday.
The shortage has been aggravated by fierce competition from private hospitals in recent months. Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Cheng Hsin General Hospital, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital and Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital have all increased their salaries this year, and Cathay General Hospital and Taiwan Adventist Hospital are to follow suit next year, he said.
Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei Times
MOHW hospitals have already taken steps this year to retain their nurses, Yang said.
In March, they were given an average monthly retention bonus of NT$3,000 (US$93.33) and a night shift bonus of NT$1,850 per month, as well as a special ward subsidy of NT$1,600 to NT$2,500 per month and a monthly certificate allowance of NT$2,000, he said.
Those increases brought annual pay for MOHW hospital nurses to NT$648,000 to NT$920,000, he said.
Photo: Rachel Lin, Taipei Times
Eighteen MOHW hospitals last month also raised the monthly shift allowances for nurses by NT$800 to NT$2,000, and another three are to follow suit this month, he said.
The 4 percent increase in January would benefit 8,026 MOHW hospital nurses, raising their monthly pay by NT$1,500 to NT$2,500, which would increase the hospitals’ expenses by at least NT$140 million per year, he said.
The Ministry of Education yesterday also rolled out a five-year NT$33.29 billion program covering pay hikes and support for research programs at universities and higher education institutions.
Part of the package would provide financial support for privately run universities to close the salary gap with public universities.
Starting next year, the monthly salaries of professors, associate professors and assistant professors are to rise by NT$9,350, NT$7,220 and NT$6,320 respectively, benefiting an estimated 18,000 faculty members at public universities, said Chu Chun-chang (朱俊彰), head of the ministry’s Department of Higher Education.
The education ministry has also allocated NT$340 million to expand scholarships and stipends for about 1,200 doctoral students next year, which are to be disbursed according each university’s own criteria.
The education ministry added that it plans to offer subsidies for on-campus housing for students at public and private universities.
A monthly subsidy ranging from NT$1,200 to NT$1,500 is being discussed and could be introduced as early as February next year if the proposal is approved by the Executive Yuan, it said, adding that it is expected to benefit 260,000 students.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS