The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a 4 percent pay raise for public-sector workers set to take effect from the beginning of next year.
The proposed amendment to next year’s central government budget bill, which would increase the wages of government employees, public schoolteachers and military personnel, needs to be approved by the legislature.
The last time public-sector employees received a pay raise was last year, when their salaries were increased by 4 percent.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
Public-sector workers also received 3 percent pay raises in 2018, 2011, 2005 and 2001, government data show.
The Directorate-General of Personnel Administration (DGPA) estimated that next year’s pay raise would cost taxpayers NT$28 billion (US$910.87 million) and apply to about 730,000 people.
The DGPA said it recommended the salary adjustment after the consumer price index was forecast to rise by more than 5 percent this year.
The pay raise is also a response to increases in private-sector salaries and the minimum wage, as well as a recognition of the contributions made by public-sector employees during the COVID-19 pandemic, the DGPA said.
The National Federation of Teachers’ Unions in a statement praised the Cabinet for heeding recommendations to raise wages by 4 percent rather than 3 percent as in previous years.
However, it also expressed disappointment that it did not implement the federation’s suggestion of a 6 percent raise.
A legal mechanism should be established to determine wage hikes for public-sector workers and gather teachers’ input during the process, the federation added.
Additional reporting by Rachel Lin
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