The Ministry of National Defense has proposed a NT$1.19 billion (US$39.2 million) budget to increase the pay rate of 29,995 military personnel who were not included in a previous raise for combat troops, a ministry official said.
To boost enlistment and morale, units not included in the 2015 pay raise are to be classified as either “type one” or “type two” combat units, the official said.
The army’s 101st Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion and the drone-flying squadrons of its Aviation and the Special Forces Command are among the units that are to receive better pay under the new plan, the official said.
The plan has been submitted to the Executive Yuan as a ministry priority and is to be implemented as soon as January next year if both it and the Legislative Yuan approve the proposal without alteration, the official said.
The previous pay increase for combat troops was implemented on April 1, 2015, but many units continue to experience recruitment shortages, the official said.
The exclusion of many units within brigade-level organizations is believed to be the cause of the problem, the ministry said.
To address the issue, the ministry devised the proposal to incorporate the units that were left out of the original plan, the official said.
Under the proposal, the army’s drone squadrons and the 101st Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion are to be included in the “type one” classification, increasing members’ pay by NT$5,000 per month, the official said.
Other units to be incorporated as type one include the navy’s 256th Submarine Unit’s support squadron; the Hai Feng Shore-Based Anti-Ship Missile Group squadrons; and the marines’ Amphibious Reconnaissance and Patrol Unit’s reconnaissance teams and underwater demolition team, the official said.
Units within the army’s brigades and corps that did not receive pay raises, such as chemical warfare, communication, electronics and information, engineering, maintenance, sanitation, military police and training, are to be classified as “type two” combat units, increasing the soldiers’ monthly pay by NT$3,000.
The infantry, armor and artillery units organic to the battalion headquarters of the army and the marines are to be reclassified from type two to type one, a ministry official said.
The official said the reclassification of formations from type two to type one would add an estimated NT$62 million to the ministry’s annual budget, which is not included in the NT$1.19 billion figure.
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
INDUSTRY: Beijing’s latest export measures go beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related tech, an academic said Taiwanese industries could face significant disruption from China’s newly tightened export controls on rare earth elements, as much of Taiwan’s supply indirectly depends on Chinese materials processed in Japan, a local expert said yesterday. Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈), director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said that China’s latest export measures go far beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related technologies. With Japan and Southeast Asian countries among those expected to be hit, Taiwan could feel the impact through its reliance on Japanese-made semi-finished products and
RSS