University tries hiring Russian lecturers cheaply

A Chinese language newspaper on Wednesday reported that National Yunlin University of Science of Technology was planning to hire Russian professors by offering them just NT$10,000 per month.

In response, a staffmember of the university's human resources department yesterday said that the plan was in a preliminary stage and hiring terms have not yet been substantiated. The staffmember said Wednesday's report concerned the institution, as the plan to hire had not been confirmed yet.

In the report, the university's president, Lin Tsong-ming (林聰明), was reported to have said the average monthly salary of a professor in Russia was NT$7,000, and therefore the salary offer of NT$10,000 was considerably higher for the professors interested in teaching in Taiwan.

Recently the university held an academic seminar which attracted numerous Russian academic professors in the field of environmental safety management. Lin stated that in recent years, Taiwan has devoted itself to the development of vocational training, with an emphasis on environmental conservation and public safety engineering. Russia has already carried out in-depth research and educational development in these same fields, he added.

Hiring Russian academics to teach courses, Lin said, would encourage more technical and education exchanges between the two countries. Lin said he was confident about hiring Russian instructors, thanks to the support of the Ministry of Education. He added that the university would do its best to push the hiring plan through.

As foreign instructors are not regulated by the Labor Standards Law (勞基法), the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) said the salary would be determined by both the employer and employee.

Even if NT$10,000 was less than the minimum wage of NT$15,840 stipulated by law, such an agreement would not violate legal regulations.