TAIPEI (TVBS News) — A councilor of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP, 民進黨) New Taipei City on Monday (Oct. 28) criticized the New Taipei City Government for overworking its civil servants, citing an average of over 20 hours of overtime per month in five departments. This workload has reportedly led to a wave of resignations among city employees.
Councilor Huang Shu-chun (黃淑君), referencing data from the Personnel Department (人事處), noted that from January to September, first and second-level agencies in New Taipei City accumulated 752,178 hours of overtime.
The top five departments for average overtime hours include the High Riverbank Construction Management Office (高灘處) with 24.32 hours, Fisheries and Fishing Port Affairs Management Office (漁管處) with 21.95 hours, Animal Protection and Health Inspection (動保處) with 20.78 hours, Transportation Department (交通局) with 20.61 hours, and Agriculture Bureau (農業局) with 20 hours.
Huang also highlighted that the city government had seen 368 resignations by September. The top departments for resignations were the Department of Health (衛生局) with 29, Revenue Service Office (稅捐處) with 26, Environmental Protection Department (環保局) with 21, Social Welfare Department (社會局) with 13, and Education Department (教育局) with 12.
Huang urged the city to review and enhance civil servant benefits despite central government subsidies for local workforce expenses. New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) acknowledged employees' hard work but stated that the resignation trend aligns with national patterns. He expressed hope that more talent would remain in New Taipei City.