TAIPEI - While protesters continue to fight for pay hikes, a report released yesterday by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) showed that in 2014, 76 per cent of the working class had yet to see any kind of salary increase, even with the Legislative Yuan passing relevant amendments or policies in the past year.
Officials revealed yesterday that while 23.5 per cent of firms in nonagricultural industries have increased salaries, which is 4.7 per cent more than that of 2013, the remaining 76.4 per cent of companies have yet to enact any policies regarding pay raises.
Five per cent of the companies decreased salaries instead, officials added.
According to the DGBAS, the nation was doing well last year, with the world economy rebounding nicely. Taiwan saw 3.77 per cent economic growth, surpassing all other countries of the Four Asian Dragons.
The scope of pay raises varied among the 23.5 per cent of firms that saw increases.
According to the report, of the 23.5 per cent, up to 6.9 per cent of companies adjusted the salaries within 3 per cent of the minimum wage; another 6.7 per cent raised wages from 3 per cent to 6 per cent, and around 1.4 per cent of companies increased 6 to 9 per cent of the salaries. Data was not provided on the remaining 8.5 per cent of companies.
Just over 28 per cent of firms in secondary industry enjoyed salary increases, which is more than service industries, which stood at 21.7 per cent. In terms of occupations, 75.7 per cent of employees of the finance and insurance sector enjoyed pay raises, which is the highest percentage of all industries, officials said.
Following is the industrial sector at 36.1 per cent, and then the electricity and gas sector at 34.1 per cent.
Among those sectors providing zero salary increase last year, the mining and quarrying sectors ranked top, with 86.1 per cent of its employees paid the same as the previous year. Sectors such as construction, transportation, education, human health and social care also experienced zero wage growth, report shows.
Employers Likely to Reject Elder Applicants
Though statistics show that the number of job vacancies has reached a record-breaking 240,269 positions since the beginning of the year, over 90 per cent of companies expressed that elderly applicants are more likely to be rejected, officials said.
Furthermore, according to a survey launched by the DGBAS, more than 40 per cent of respondents said that their companies would rather let the position remain empty than hire employees over 45 years old.
Company representatives said that the reasons to avoid hiring elder employees include that they react too slowly, are less energetic, or that they do not have the fundamental skills for the jobs.
According to the DGBAS, from January to March 2015, the sector of electronic components manufacturing had the most job openings. However, officials forecast that as the economy has been picking up since March, job openings are likely to decrease rapidly in the following months.