Budget Cuts Sacrificing the Grassroots? Daya District Office Owes Wages, Superior Suggests 'Rotating Payments'

A ridiculous wage arrears controversy has erupted at the Daya District Office in Taichung. Two contract administrative assistants in the Public Construction Section have not received their salaries since September this year. Despite depleted budgets, they continued to provide labor, yet their superior proposed the absurd idea of 'rotating payments,' leaving one month's wages unresolved. After the incident was exposed by netizens on Threads, the office responded on October 3rd, stating that funds had been coordinated and checks issued, with salaries to be received on October 5th. They also pledged to review the budget control process and pursue administrative accountability. However, this is not a simple oversight. The Daya District Office's wage arrears are the result of the combined structural pressure from central budget cuts and local financial management failures. While the central government's reduction in operating expenses has indeed made the financial basis for contract salaries more fragile, the direct trigger was the district office's internal fund allocation and administrative processing issues. 'Rotating payments' further exposes structural problems: agencies evading the responsibility of full payment through rotation is tantamount to transferring financial risk to the most vulnerable grassroots laborers. The two assistants continued to provide labor but received no pay. If not for the netizens' exposure, they might have continued working for free. Although the office has since paid the arrears, the attribution of decision-making responsibility still needs clarification. The salary security of contract personnel should not depend on budget flexibility; if systemic loopholes are not closed, similar absurd dramas are likely to repeat. Rotating payments... I can't believe a superior would even say that. Are they expecting people to work two months for one month's pay? 🙄 High-ranking officials get their salaries and numerous subsidies every month, yet they treat the lower ranks like this. Taiwan's rotten bureaucracy 🙄🙄