Lawmakers yesterday clashed as the legislative caucuses reviewed a draft bill on rules governing public-school teachers’ and school employees’ retirement and pension benefits.
Pan-blue legislators continued to protest against the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) version of the bill, saying that the proposals would make teachers suffer and accused ruling party lawmakers of stigmatizing teachers with propaganda implying they are reluctant to loosen their grip on their pensions.
Teachers should not be made to bear the responsibility of the Civil Servants’ Pension Fund going bankrupt, as the amount of their pensions was set out in a contract they signed with the government, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Yosi Takun (孔文吉) said, calling on the DPP government not to push for punishing pension reform.
Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
The DPP caucus’ version sets the pension floor for public-school teachers and employees at NT$32,160 — the same as the minimum pension for civil servants stipulated in the Act Governing Civil Servants’ Retirement, Discharge and Pensions (公務人員退休資遣撫卹法) that was passed yesterday.
As with civil servants, teachers and employees at public schools taking childcare leave would be able to retain their seniority as long as they agree to pay a monthly fee ranging from 12 to 18 percent of their monthly salary to support the Civil Servants’ Pension Fund in accordance with a DPP draft that passed its second reading on Monday.
The legislators resolved that the rules would apply to principals, presidents, teachers, researchers, specialists and sports coaches who are formal employees at public schools.
Ahead of the plenary session yesterday, the DPP caucus decided to lower the planned retirement age for elementary and high-school teachers by two years to 58.
A legislative proposal made in accordance with the Presidential Office’s pension reform committee recommended that the retirement age for teachers be set at 60, but the DPP decided to set it at 58 following negotiations with the National Federation of Teachers’ Unions. The average retirement age of public-school teachers is 53, and they can qualify for retirement if their age plus years of service equal 75.
The federation has urged the Cabinet and the legislature to keep the retirement age at 55 to ensure quality teaching, but it is willing to accept a two-year decrease in the planned retirement age, federation president Chang Hsu-cheng (張旭政) said.
“Although it is not satisfying, this is progress, which is acceptable for most elementary and high-school teachers,” Chang said.
DPP caucus chief executive Yeh Yi-chin (葉宜津) said the DPP caucus understands the difficulties involved in the elementary and high-school teaching environment, but considering the planned retirement age of 65 for other occupations, the party can only make a concession of two years.
“The compromise is a success, and the DPP is willing to negotiate with people in different lines of work to proceed with pension reform while maintaining the financial stability of the government,” she said.
The review of the proposed bill was still ongoing at press time last night.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique