The National Federation of Teachers’ Unions yesterday announced plans for protests against aspects of the government’s pension reform plans, as it continues to tread a careful line between support and outright opposition.
“In our view, this is an abrupt reform which is just what we feared in the past, and it will influence teacher turnover. Training of new teachers might as well be stopped for 10 years,” union president Chang Hsu-cheng (張旭政) said, announcing plans for protests outside local governments around the nation next week.
He cited Executive Yuan Pension Reform Office plans which would immediately increase the seniority required for teachers to retire by five years followed by annual hikes of at least one year which would keep most teachers from retiring until 60.
“As far as we can see, the only teachers who would be able to take advantage of the transition period [to retire before 60] are those who graduated from junior colleges before 1971, because they began teaching at 20 and have extra seniority,” he said, while also criticizing the government for failing to specify why and how it would conduct reconsideration of reforms after five years under official plans.
“They’re cutting pension payments, but they do not specify how they will make pensions sustainable,” he said, adding that the plans also fail to specify how the government is to address the chronic underfunding of pension funds.
Union protests are to occur mainly during school vacations to avoid affecting students, with local union officials stating they would be “soft and firm” without “causing trouble.”
While local protests are intended to influence the national government by putting pressure on Democratic Progressive Party local governments, there are currently no plans for national protests, Chang said, adding that that union measures constituted “action to express controversy” rather than “taking a stand against” pension reform.
“We’re using the term ‘action to express controversy’ because we still support the government’s pension reform, but we also believe that the government is acting as an ‘evil employer’ by refusing to acknowledge its responsibilities and guaranteeing the sustainability of pension funds,” he said.
The union is notable as one of the few which has drafted a pension reform proposal, last year drawing criticism from competing unions for refusing to endorse a massive demonstration against pension reform.
It has since grown increasingly critical of the government’s pension reform reportedly because of pressure from its members.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
A white king snake that frightened passengers and caused a stir on a Taipei MRT train on Friday evening has been claimed by its owner, who would be fined, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. A person on Threads posted that he thought he was lucky to find an empty row of seats on Friday after boarding a train on the Bannan (Blue) Line, only to spot a white snake with black stripes after sitting down. Startled, he jumped up, he wrote, describing the encounter as “terrifying.” “Taipei’s rat control plan: Release snakes on the metro,” one person wrote in reply, referring
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
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
RSS