Part-time university lecturers on Monday urged the Ministry of Education to address a widening wage gap between themselves and their full-time colleagues.
Members of the Taiwan Higher Education Union said many part-time college instructors, whose numbers have increased by 63 percent over the past decade, earn the minimum monthly wage of about NT$18,900, despite sometimes having to shoulder workloads equal to those of their full-time peers.
The union members summarized seven other types of atypical employment commonly seen on university campuses, including interns, research assistants and contract administrative workers, and demanded reasonable treatment for them.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
These non-standard employees are exploited by universities, the members said.
As the number of full-time -faculty positions have been reduced, universities tend to hire several part-time instructors, particularly new doctoral graduates, to share the work of one full-time instructor, the union members said.
Part-time lecturers are not eligible for the same lecturing and research resources because they cannot apply for research projects independently, and they also miss out on pensions and insurance, they said.
Moreover, female part-time -instructors are not allowed to take maternity leave, which is tantamount to a ban on them becoming pregnant, they said.
Representatives of the National Taiwan University union also said the scholarship system has been twisted, with universities treating scholarship and grant recipients as part-time workers. Some low--income students who receive grants are expected to work for as much as 50 hours a semester on campus, they said.
LOUD AND PROUD Taiwan might have taken a drubbing against Australia and Japan, but you might not know it from the enthusiasm and numbers of the fans Taiwan might not be expected to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) but their fans are making their presence felt in Tokyo, with tens of thousands decked out in the team’s blue, blowing horns and singing songs. Taiwanese fans have packed out the Tokyo Dome for all three of their games so far and even threatened to drown out home team supporters when their team played Japan on Friday. They blew trumpets, chanted for their favorite players and had their own cheerleading squad who dance on a stage during the game. The team struggled to match that exuberance on the field, with
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
A Taiwanese man apologized on Friday after saying in a social media post that he worked with Australia to provide scouting reports on Taiwan’s team, enabling Australia’s victory in this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), saying it was a joke and that he did not hold any position with foreign teams or Taiwan’s sports training center. Chen Po-hao (陳柏豪) drew the rage of many Taiwan baseball fans when he posted online on Thursday night, claiming credit for Australia’s 3-0 win over Taiwan in the opening game for Pool C, saying he worked as a physical therapist with the national team and
RSS