Civil Service Bureau: If constitutional interpretation result is undecided by Aug 1, differential payments will be issued

(CNA, Taipei, June 24) Regarding the issue of back payments for civil servant pensions, the Executive Yuan stated that it hopes the Constitutional Court will make a ruling as soon as possible. Minister of Civil Service Shih Neng-chieh said today that although the constitutional interpretation process is still ongoing, they will act in accordance with the law. After the Civil Service Bureau issues the approval letter, if the constitutional interpretation result is not yet decided by August 1, all competent authorities will be required to complete the payments by August 1 based on the approval letter.

The Legislative Yuan passed amendments to certain articles of the Act Governing the Retirement, Resignation, and Dismissal of Public Servants on December last year, halting the reduction of civil servant pensions starting from 2024. The Civil Service Bureau stated that the differential payments for pensions from December 28 last year to July 31 this year should be issued by August 1 this year at the latest. The relevant authorities have already sent the revised decisions and attached income tables to the retired personnel. The Executive Yuan stated that it respects the examination and approval authority of the Examination Yuan, but the bill is currently undergoing constitutional interpretation. It hopes the Constitutional Court will make a ruling as soon as possible to serve as a basis for the executive team's implementation.

The Legislative Yuan's Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee invited the Examination Yuan, the Civil Service Bureau, and others to report on the "Effectiveness of Parental Leave Without Pay Implementation and Policies for Expanding Parental Leave Allowances in Taiwan" and to be questioned.

Taiwan People's Party legislator Chen Chao-tzu questioned whether the Civil Service Bureau supports the Executive Yuan's delay through constitutional interpretation and its refusal to accept the bill passed by the Legislative Yuan. Shih Neng-chieh replied that this is not a matter of support or opposition. Both the Executive Yuan and the Examination Yuan have filed constitutional interpretation cases. However, they will still act in accordance with the law. After the Civil Service Bureau issues the approval letter in accordance with the law, if there are no issues with the constitutional interpretation process, the competent authorities will proceed based on the approval letter before August 1.

Chen Chao-tzu further asked if the differential payments would be made before August 1. Chen Su-chih, Director of the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration's Compensation and Benefits Division, stated that they will act in accordance with the Executive Yuan's policy and the results of the constitutional interpretation.

Kuomintang legislator Weng Hsiao-ling questioned whether the Examination Yuan and the Civil Service Bureau had communicated with the Executive Yuan. Shih Neng-chieh pointed out that the Civil Service Bureau's stance is to issue the approval letter, clarify the matter, and act in accordance with the law. If the constitutional interpretation result is not yet finalized, the authorities will complete the payments before August 1. Chen Su-chih said that the Executive Yuan has no alternative approach; it will simply respect and implement the results of the constitutional interpretation.

In addition, several ruling and opposition legislators expressed concern that civil servant salaries are composed of basic salary and various allowances, but the parental leave without pay allowance for civil servants is calculated based only on the basic salary. The actual allowance received may only be one-third of the actual monthly salary, which is worse than the treatment for laborers.

Shih Neng-chieh stated that the civil servant insurance is paid from reserves, so the premium base used for insurance determines the calculation standard. Furthermore, civil servant benefits include many items. If the expenditure items are to be expanded, it may practically encounter whether all civil servants agree to pay higher premiums and increase the rate for this purpose, which may require further discussion.

Shih Neng-chieh also said that this is indeed a serious issue related to the structure of civil servants' basic salaries, and they will consider some possibilities to increase the amount of parental leave without pay allowances for civil servants. (Editor: Wan Shu-chang) 1150624

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