Civil servants to receive 3% pay raise starting in May: Premier

Taipei, April 22 (CNA) Civil servants, military personnel and public school teachers will see their 3 percent pay raise issued beginning in May, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said Tuesday.

Cho gave the timetable at a legislative hearing in response to lawmakers' questions on when the raise would be instituted given that the central government budget was upheld by lawmakers and promulgated by President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) on March 21.

The premier said the pay raise was delayed because the Cabinet believed it was inappropriate to allocate the funds before its effort to overturn the NT$3.1 trillion central government budget plan approved by the Legislature was resolved.

The Cabinet pushed for a reconsideration of the budget because of its many cuts and freezes, but the Legislature voted on March 12 to uphold the budget it originally passed on Jan. 21.

Cho said a decision was finally made Tuesday morning to start dispensing the 3 percent salary raise for civil servants starting in May, but he did not provide any other details.

The wage hike for public servants was approved by the Executive Yuan in July 2024.