The Changhua County Government will pay out overtime allowances owed to firefighters, welcome news for frontline personnel who have long worked excessive hours.

• The county government took the initiative to review overtime hours accumulated from January 2023 to July 2024 that had not been compensated, and will pay them off in a single disbursement before November this year.
• Because firefighters give priority to disaster relief and emergency medical support and shift scheduling is tight, some overtime hours could not be taken as compensatory leave in a timely manner in the past.
• Each person can receive up to NT$19,000 per month in overtime allowances, handled in accordance with the Civil Service Protection Act on a verified basis.
• Since July 2024, field units have been required to arrange rest periods properly, and monthly claimed overtime hours have fallen to single digits.

Outlook: The back-payment process is expected to be completed by the end of the year, with attention subsequently shifting to adjusting duty arrangements and staffing to prevent overtime hours from building up again.