Teachers should not be allowed to reject doing traffic duty, parents said yesterday in a protest outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, as the effects of new collective bargaining rules continue to ripple through the nation’s schools.
“How can you go over the heads of the Education Bureau, parents and children to go directly to mediation by the Labor Bureau?” National Alliance of Parents’ Organization chairman Wu Fu-pin (吳福濱) asked, adding that the mediation in Taichung was opaque and “black box” for failing to include parents.
Taichung teachers’ unions have appealed for mediation to overturn city rules requiring teachers assist in directing traffic around schools at the beginning and end of each school day, saying that teachers are not obligated to direct traffic because it is not part of their specified duties under the Teachers’ Act (教師法).
Secondary and Elementary School Principals Association director-general Hsueh Chun-kuang (薛春光) said the decision could have national implications if the unions win their appeal, calling on the Legislative Yuan to pass amendments clarifying teachers rights and duties.
Taichung Holistic Parents Association president Maggie Peng (彭淑燕) said it would be difficult to find replacement volunteers.
“Most parents have jobs and not everyone can be a volunteer,” she said, adding that it would be impossible to guide students to the several pickup sites around schools without teachers’ help.
“Parents will start letting students off directly at the school entrance where they feel it is safest, which would create congestion,” she said, adding that because teachers take turns, instructors are typically obligated to do traffic duty one week each semester.
Since the Legislative Yuan passed legislation allowing for the creation of teachers’ unions in 2010, their growth has brought conflict with parents’ groups, as teachers began advocating rule changes and negotiations for collective bargaining agreements.
Deputy Minister of Education Lin Teng-chiao (林騰蛟) said the ministry’s position is that teachers are obligated to be at school whenever students are, adding that the ministry does not approve of using labor mediation to resolve the issue.
“When even parents are willing to sacrifice their time, there is no reason for teachers not to take it on,” he said, adding that if mediation had already been decided on, parents’ groups should be invited to participate.
The Taichung Labor Bureau said mediation talks have yet to be concluded and all interested parties would be invited to participate in discussions.
Additional reporting by Chang Ching-ya and Rachel Lin
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