THSRC to issue year-end bonuses equal to 3.4 months of monthly salary

Taipei, Jan. 14 (CNA) Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC), the sole high speed railway operator in Taiwan, announced on Wednesday that it will issue year-end bonuses equivalent to 3.4 months of salary.

The year-end bonuses will be paid to its employees on Feb. 6 before the nine-day Lunar New Year holiday starts on Feb. 14.

In Taiwan, employers tend to issue year-end bonuses ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, expressing their gratitude for the contributions made by employees over the year.

This year's year-end bonuses beat the 3.27 times monthly salary THSRC paid last year, according to THSRC.

On Jan. 2, THSRC issued NT$12,000 (US$397) or about 0.2 months of salary, as a special bonus to employees.

In addition, THSRC is also scheduled to issue bonuses equivalent to 3.40 months of salary on average on June 30 based on each individuals' performance, which will boost total annual bonuses to seven months of salary, compared with more than 6.5 months of salary last year.

THSRC said total annual bonuses are issued under a bonus insurance mechanism inaugurated last year after negotiations between the company and its union, which secured the approval of the THSRC board.

In an internal letter to employees, THSRC Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said 2026 is a critical year for the company, marking the 20th anniversary of its operations.

Safety is the top priority of THSRC as "without safety, there is no Taiwan High Speed Rail," urging employees to never forget the company's discipline and mission, Shih said.

The chairman's reminder came after THSRC reported several negligence-related incidents over a short period of time last year, including "malfunctioning signals," "train doors opening before a train stopped" and "a train cover plate coming detached during a trial run," Shih said in the letter.