Taiwan’s minister of the Counsel of Labor Affairs (CLA) on Thursday announced her intentions to raise the nation’s basic wage for public workers by over 3%. CLA minister Jennifer Wang remarked that despite a 3.47% increase to Taiwan’s basic wage last year, the planned 3% pay hike for public workers should be increased further still. Wang argues that the country’s base pay was too low to begin with, so another 3% hike will not be sufficient for those earning a minimum wage. As of January 1st of this year, basic pay for public workers was increased from NT$17,280 to NT$17,880, or approximately $619 each month. The CLA minister’s comments came following Lawmaker Ho Tsai-feng’s note that the minimum wage should be raised by $2,330 each month, the average increase across all public workers at the currently slated 3% rate. This would bring Taiwan’s monthly minimum wage to NT$20,110, or $696.

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Recently, AT&T announced new Pay-As-You-Go international data packages for netbook and laptop users. The new, 30-day plans start at 20MB for $24.99 and go all the way up to 200MB for $199.99. “Data sessions may be purchased using a credit card or a debit card. Customers can also bill the charges to their wireless bill provided the postpaid wireless account has been active more than 90 days and has no past due charges,” reads the press release. The company will also allow users to schedule when the 30-day pass begins to take effect. The four announced plans are as follows:

DataConnect Pass Global 20MB for $24.99

DataConnect Pass Global 50MB for $59.99

DataConnect Pass Global 100MB for $119.99

DataConnect Pass Global 200MB for $199.99

Although expensive, it seems like a pretty good way to prevent scary international overages. Hit the jump for the full press release.

AT&T Introduces Pay-As-You-Go International Data Packages for Laptops and Netbook

Customers Benefit from More Flexibility, More Choice; More Ways to Manage Data Needs Abroad

DALLAS, Oct. 20 /PRNewswire/ — AT&T* today announced the launch of AT&T DataConnect Pass Global — a lineup of international pay-as-you-go data packages now available on AT&T-certified laptops and netbooks. The announcement expands AT&T’s portfolio of pay-as-you-go data services, providing domestic and now international data passes designed to meet individual needs and budgets without a long-term commitment.

Ideal for international business travelers and vacationers alike, the passes provide data coverage in more than 100 countries, including Canada, Mexico, countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia. Available in 30-day session increments, packages can help travelers better manage their data usage abroad and at rates significantly lower than pay-per-use service. Data packages include:

• DataConnect Pass Global 20MB for $24.99
• DataConnect Pass Global 50MB for $59.99
• DataConnect Pass Global 100MB for $119.99
• DataConnect Pass Global 200MB for $199.99

Data sessions may be purchased at Buy an AT&T DataConnect Pass Session, using a credit card or a debit card. Customers can also bill the charges to their wireless bill provided the postpaid wireless account has been active more than 90 days and has no past due charges. Set up is easy: customers create a username and password, provide their laptop or netbook SIM card and device serial numbers, complete the billing information and select the desired data package.

Once purchased, customers have the flexibility to specify when they want the 30-day session to begin, based on their travel itinerary. As a helpful reminder, customers will receive a courtesy text and email when their plan is close to expiring or when they are close to depleting the amount of data available with their session.

International packages are available to existing AT&T netbook or laptop customers. For complete details, visit AT&T DataConnect Pass Sessions.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

Restrictions apply. Time begins expiring immediately upon activation whether you are using the service or not. Once you consume your allotted data or your time expires, whichever occurs first, your data access will cease. Plans should be purchased before traveling outside the U.S., Puerto Rico or the U.S.V.I. For available countries and carriers, see DataConnect Legal Documents. Availability, quality of coverage while roaming are not guaranteed. Plans must begin within 365 days of purchase. Fees are non-refundable. For complete terms and conditions see DataConnect Pass/iPad™/Session-Based Wireless Data Services Agreement on Wireless Legal Documents.

DataConnect Pass Global packages are available to customers with an AT&T enabled LaptopConnect Card, embedded Laptop Card or netbook that have a domestic AT&T Laptop Connect plan currently. Customers that already have their own AT&T compatible device, but do not currently subscribe to a domestic Laptop Connect Plan, may need to purchase a new SIM card to activate service.

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Today, AT&T announced the availability of three new mobile-broadband computing devices: the Acer Aspire AS1830, Acer Aspire One 532h, and the Dell Inspire Mini 10D. The Aspire AS1830 is a full-fledged laptop that comes with an Intel Core i3 processor, 2 GB RAM, 250 MB hard drive, 11.6-inch display, 1.3 megapixel webcam, and Windows 7 Home Premium. The AS1830 will retail for $239.99 on a two-year contract. The Aspire One 523h and Dell Mini 10D both fall into the netbook category, with 10.1-inch displays, Intel N450 Atom processors, and Windows 7 Starter Edition; both units will retail for $39.99 with a two-year contract. The devices will also be able to leverage AT&T’s Pay-As-You-Go plans for connectivity; $15 for one-day 100 MB plan, $30 for one-week 300 MB plan, $50 for one-month 1 GB plan. If you fancy the no-contract service, you will have to pay full-price for the devices; pricing starts at $449.99. Hit the read link to check out the full press release.

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Uh oh! It looks like there is trouble brewing within the rank and file of the Rogers and Fido sales staff, assistant managers, and employees at the director level. A decision by the Rogers finance department to cut sales commission by as much as 50% has seriously irked the sales staff who played an integral role in the approximate 30% increase in sales since the beginning of 2008. Normally one would assume that a company wouldn’t mind fairly compensating their employees with commission for all of their hard work and doing such a damn good job at selling their products and services, but as we have seen so many times in the past, Rogers isn’t a normal company.

Consider the following as an example of what would happen to the average large store employee working on commission-based sales. Under the old system, signing a customer up on a 3-year contract with a monthly plan above $40 would net a $25 commission. With the cut the same employee only stands to make $16.20, a decrease of 35%. If the monthly plan is under $40 a month the new commission system makes for a cut of 34%.

• Single options now only pay $1, a decrease of 50%
• Value packs now only pay $3.80, a decrease of 24%
• Non-term data now only pays $9, a decrease of 10%
• Month-to-month activation now only pays $3, a decrease of 40%
• Commission on accessories has decreased 30%

Added up, the average employee of a large store stands to lose over $500 a month in commission because of these cuts at a time when the amount of sales are so high that many stores are paying 50% more than their budgeted commission because of a drastic increase in the volume of sales due to the iPhone 3G, lower data costs, and new low-cost monthly plans.

The action taken by the Rogers finance department will have a profound implication on the level care that both Fido and Rogers customers receive. No longer will the in-store sales staff be willing to assist customers with their problems after they have been sold their phone and plan because the sales staff have to make more sales to compensate for the cut to their commission. This will mean more and more customers will be sent away and told to call customer service which will in turn place tremendous strain on the resources of the call centers and forcing customers with problems to wait on hold for a longer period of time than necessary.

To make matters worse, there is the potential that a lot of the sales staff will simply tender their resignation, meaning that customers will have the pleasure of dealing with freshly trained sales staff who haven’t the slightest clue about what they’re really doing.

The cut to commissions will impact each and every customer of Rogers and Fido in one way or another. If you’re the type of person who feels this is wrong, you can call Rogers or Fido toll-free within Canada at 1-888-764-3771 and 1-888-945-3436 respectively.