TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Bank of Taiwan’s low salaries and limited employee benefits are making it harder to attract workers, the bank’s labor union chair Lin Cheng-tan (林政潭) said Wednesday, UDN reported.
Speaking at a legislative hearing, Lin said the bank’s salary system has remained rigid for years, leaving little room for pay increases. He said employees also miss out on bonuses and benefits available at other partly state-owned banks.
Lin said the annual income of a Bank of Taiwan head-office manager can be NT$1.6 million (US$49,500) lower than that of a branch manager at another partly state-owned bank. He said much of the difference comes from a 1.8% employee profit-sharing payment that Bank of Taiwan workers do not receive.
Bank of Taiwan also offers smaller performance bonuses, Lin said. Employees can receive bonuses equal to 4.4 months of salary, compared with 4.6 months at other partly state-owned banks.
Employees also receive fewer benefits, Lin said. He said some private banks contribute as much as NT$10,000 to employee benefit trusts, while some partly state-owned banks provide NT$1,000 and Bank of Taiwan provides nothing.
Lin said Bank of Taiwan employees also do not receive a monthly NT$3,000 meal allowance available at some other partly state-owned banks. He added that employees also miss out on a NT$750 tax-free allowance offered by some competing banks.
Economic Daily News reported that pay for managers is another concern, Lin said. He said managers at other banks receive monthly management allowances ranging from NT$8,000 to NT$80,000.
Bank of Taiwan managers receive an allowance equal to only 3% of their salary, Lin said. He said their pay is capped because it cannot exceed the salary of the bank’s general manager, whose pay is also relatively low.
Lin said the pay system is already affecting recruitment. He said the bank’s hiring rate has risen above 20%, meaning it now has to hire a larger share of applicants as it becomes harder to attract enough qualified candidates, per TVBS News.
He warned that Bank of Taiwan could face greater difficulty finding workers if salaries and benefits do not improve. Lin called for better employee benefits, particularly for younger workers.
Bank of Taiwan is the country’s largest commercial bank and is fully owned by the government. Founded in 1946, the bank is part of Taiwan Financial Holdings.
