The Executive Yuan has agreed to raise the salaries of civil servants, military personnel and public school teachers by 3 percent next year, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday.
Cho told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Pingtung County that he hoped the government’s wage hike would prompt the private sector to also raise salaries and bolster the nation’s competitiveness.
The wage increase assessment for next year has been completed and the Cabinet would make an official announcement at an appropriate time, he said.
Photo: Lo Hsin-chen, Taipei Times
Given that the local economy is in recovery, the Cabinet believes that civil servants, military personnel and public school teachers should also benefit, he said.
Cabinet spokesman Chen Shi-kai (陳世凱) told a news conference earlier this month that Cho had instructed the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration to immediately begin assessments due to the economic rebound.
The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) forecasts that the nation’s export-oriented economy would grow 3.94 percent this year on the back of a rebound in global demand, faster than last year’s 1.28 percent.
The Executive Yuan increased salaries for civil servants, military personnel and public school teachers by 4 percent this year.
An Executive Yuan official said that compared with the 4 percent rise, the 3 percent increase might seem mild, but it would be the second consecutive year that wages would be raised.
The official said the Cabinet also took inflation into account before deciding on the latest hike.
The DGBAS forecasts that the consumer price index (CPI) would grow 2.07 percent this year, moderating from a 2.49 percent increase last year.
In the first six months of this year, the CPI rose 2.27 percent year-on-year, higher than the central bank’s 2 percent alert level.
Many employees have urged their employers to raise wages as their income has been eroded by inflation.
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