Accompanied by representatives from various civic groups, Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD) researcher Bo Tedards yesterday accused the foundation of removing him from his duties as International Cooperation Department director because he took eight months of parental leave.
Formerly director of the foundation’s International Cooperation Department, Tedards went on parental leave in the middle of last year to take care of his child.
However, when he went back to work in January, he encountered something unexpected.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
“I sat down and before I turned on my computer, I was called to [TFD] president Huang Teh-fu’s (黃德福) office,” Tedards told a press conference held at the legislature. “I was told that I was to be transferred from the director position to a simple researcher.”
“I asked if the transfer was because of my work performance, but Huang said: ‘No,’” Tedards said, adding that he actually received an “A” grade for his performance at work last year.
He then applied for mediation from the Taipei City Government’s Department of Labor, but no consensus was reached between Tedards and his employer during the negotiations. With the assistance of the Taiwan Labour Front, Tedards filed a discrimination complaint with the Department of Labor — which ruled that the TFD was in violation of labor laws and fined the foundation NT$50,000 (US$1,600).
“The TFD, a semi-governmental organization with the objective of promoting democracy and human rights, has set a very bad example and it is violating its own commitment to promote human rights,” Taiwan Women’s Link secretary-general Tsai Wan-fen (蔡宛芬) said. “According to the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法), each employee is entitled to a parental leave for up to two years. So, in fact, Tedards could have taken a longer leave if he had wanted to.”
Responding to the issue, Huang, at a separate setting yesterday, said Tedards has, officially, always been a researcher, but he concurrently held the position of a director.
“It was just a job adjustment that had nothing to do with the parental leave,” Huang said.
After receiving the ruling, the foundation decided to appeal, Huang said.
Department of Labor Commissioner Chen Yeh-hsin (陳業鑫) yesterday defended the ruling.
“Our own investigation showed that Tedards’ transfer was obviously related to his parental leave,” he said. “Besides, it’s written on his work contract that he is a ‘director,’ so it’s obvious that the position is not a ‘concurrent’ one as the TDF argues.”
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
The Grand Hotel Taipei has rejected media reports claiming that the hotel had prevented CBS from broadcasting coverage of the Beijing summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on its premises. Media reports alleging that the hotel owner, dissatisfied with CBS’s coverage, prohibited the network from broadcasting political content on the hotel premises, are not true, the hotel said in a statement issued last night. The reports were “inconsistent with how the hotel actually handled the matter,” it said. The hotel said it received a refund request from a
RSS