The Legislative Yuan today approved a NT$30,000 monthly allowance for voluntary service members and higher salary for those in combat units, in a bid to boost flagging military recruitment and retention.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus, which proposed the amendment to the Pay Act of the Armed Forces (軍人待遇條例), said that salaries must be increased to reflect increased frequency of duties and training, as well as boost recruitment incentives and retain top talent.
As rising cross-strait tensions have increased the workload of combat and combat support units, the bill introduces a new allowance scheme to incentivize recruitment, the KMT said.
Photo: Huang Chin-hsuan, Taipei Times
The bill standardizes current regional allowances by eliminating restrictions based on service category and rank, emphasizing instead that such allowances should be determined by the remoteness and inconvenience of the service location, the party said.
It also legalizes overtime pay, so that if service members do not use all their leave, they can convert it into pay.
In addition, it stipulates that salaries should be appropriately adjusted so that military personnel’s income is not affected by inflation.
The bill, which passed the third reading, is set to go into effect from Jan. 1 next year.
Earlier this morning, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that the bill contravenes the Budget Act (預算法) and the Constitution, and urged lawmakers not to “repeat the same mistakes” or the Executive Yuan would take action if necessary.
The Budget Act stipulates if the Legislative Yuan introduces legislation that would significantly increase the annual expenditure of the central government, it must consult the Executive Yuan, Cho said.
The Taiwan People's Party (TPP) also held a news conference earlier today to explain its version of the amendment, after the party’s caucus failed to reach a consensus with the KMT on a consolidated bill.
TPP Legislator Lin Yi-chun (林憶君) said that the military is struggling to recruit and retain people, and an increasing number of volunteer service members have been retiring.
About half of the early discharge applications are due to insufficient salary and benefits, she said, adding that all members of the TPP caucus agree that raising salaries is the fastest way to retain talent.
As the government plans to spend 3 percent of GDP on defense next year, the budget is sufficient to cover these raises, she said.
The TPP proposal sought to increase and standardize compensation for volunteer soldiers, rather than instating a salary increase across the board.
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