COST OF LIVING/Civil servants, military personnel, teachers to get 3% wage hike in 2025

Taipei, July 22 (CNA) The Executive Yuan has agreed to raise the salaries of civil servants, military personnel and public school teachers by 3 percent in 2025, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said on Monday.

Cho told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Pingtung County that he hoped the wage hike by the government would prompt the private sector to raise salaries for employees and strengthen Taiwan's competitiveness.

Cho said the wage hike-related assessment had been completed for 2025 and that the Cabinet would make an official announcement at an appropriate time.

The premier said that given the local economy was in recovery, the Cabinet thought that civil servants, military personnel and public school teachers should also benefit from the growth.

In early July, Executive Yuan spokesperson Chen Shi-kai (陳世凱) said in a news conference that Cho had instructed the Directorate General of Personnel Administration to immediately begin assessments due to the economic rebound.

According to the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS), Taiwan's exports-oriented gross domestic product is expected to grow 3.94 percent in 2024 on the back of a rebound in global demand, compared with a 1.28 percent increase in 2023.

The Executive Yuan increased salaries for civil servants, military personnel and public school teachers by 4 percent in 2024.

An Executive Yuan official told CNA that compared with the 4 percent rise in 2024, the 3 percent increase might seem mild, but pointed out it was the second consecutive year of a rise.

The official said the Cabinet also took inflation into account before deciding on the latest hike.

The DGBAS has forecast the consumer price index (CPI) will grow 2.07 percent in 2024, moderating from a 2.49 percent hike in 2023.

In the first six months of this year, the local CPI rose 2.27 percent from a year earlier, higher than the 2 percent alert set by the central bank.

Many employees have urged their employers to raise wages as their income has been eroded by inflation.