A lack of higher salaries is the main reason that the Railway Bureau has been unable to recruit an adequate number of railway inspectors, Taiwan Transportation Safety Board Chairman Young Hong-tsu (楊宏智) said yesterday.
The bureau decided to hire railway inspectors to enhance safety following the derailments of Puyuma Express No. 6432 in 2018 and Taroko Express No. 408 last year, resulting in a total of 67 dead and 479 injured.
The responsibilities of a railway inspector are similar to those of an aviation inspector, to review all railway procedures, equipment and the train to ensure that everything complies with the safety regulations, the bureau said.
Photo: CNA
The railway inspectors would oversee the safety of not only the Taiwan Railways Administration’s railway network, but also the networks of the high-speed railway, the Taiwan Sugar Railway and the Alishan Forest Railway, the bureau said, adding that it has requested approval from the Executive Yuan to hire 42 railway inspectors.
Last year, it planned to hire 16 inspectors, but only 12 people took the job test, two of whom made it through the final recruitment round.
This year, the bureau plans to recruit 30 inspectors. While 41 people took the exam, eight secured a second-round interview. Even if all eight make it through the final phase, the bureau would not reach its goal.
The salaries offered to railway inspectors are not a strong enough incentive for people to apply, Young said.
“The Taiwan Railways Administration’s national network is about 1,200km of track. Higher salaries are crucial if the bureau wants to find qualified people to be inspectors. The bureau should convince the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration that the position is key to enhancing railway safety,” he said.
The monthly salary of a railway incident investigator with more than 10 years of experience is NT$100,000 or more, Young said, adding that he has requested that specialists working for the board receive reasonable salaries.
Railway Bureau Director-General Wu Sheng-yuan (伍勝園) said that the bureau proposed that the salaries of railway inspectors be comparable to those of specialists working at the Taiwan Transportation Safety Board, but the proposal was rejected by the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration.
The bureau has been offering assistant inspectors (those with at least four years of work experience) a starting salary of NT$56,061, while senior inspectors (at least six years of experience) are offered NT$63,218 and chief inspectors (at least 10 years) are offered NT$70,375.
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