Pension contributions and benefits for private-school teachers should be brought into line with those of ordinary workers as part of pension reform, a teachers’ union said yesterday.
“The government’s plan still has not taken into consideration the situation of private-school teachers,” Taiwan Higher Education Union secretary-general Chen Cheng-liang (陳政亮) said. “Reform has now become a process of continually cutting benefits, but that still will not make the system fairer unless we also improve benefits for those worse off.”
The separate pension systems in place for private and public-school teachers have led to dramatically disparate retirement benefits, even though the salaries and responsibilities of both groups are equivalent, he said.
Private-school teachers’ average monthly pensions are below NT$30,000 (US$980), less than half those of public-school teachers, he said.
“The current system has created a situation in which the income replacement ratio for private-school teachers is lower than any other professional category, even ordinary workers,” union researcher Chen Po-chien (陳柏謙) said, calling for the payment rates to be increased from 1.33 percentage points to 1.55 percentage points for each year of seniority.
Extra benefits should be paid for by increasing payments into the fund for private teachers by 50 percent, using additional school and government contributions, he said.
Given the union’s estimates, the government would need to budget an average of NT$1.56 billion per year, with private schools liable for an additional NT$600 million annually, he said.
Kainan University public administration professor Chang Kuo-sheng (張國聖) said linking private teachers’ income replacement ratio with that of ordinary workers would lay the groundwork for integrating private teachers’ pensions with those enjoyed under the National Labor Insurance.
Measures have been taken to minimize damage from Chinese espionage, the Ministry of National Defense said on Monday, in response to an alleged plan to deliver a Chinook helicopter to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. The Chinese-language CTWANT magazine earlier in the day reported that a lieutenant colonel surnamed Hsieh (謝) was approached by Chinese officers with an offer to evacuate his family to Thailand in the event of a cross-strait conflict. In exchange, Hsieh was asked to fly a CH-47F Chinook helicopter to a Chinese aircraft carrier in the Taiwan Strait, the magazine said. Hsieh initially declined, but accepted after he was
SAFETY IN REGULATION: The proposal states that Chiayi should assess whether it is viable to establish such a district and draft rules to protect clients and sex workers The Chiayi City Council passed a motion yesterday to assess the viability of establishing a regulated red-light district. The council yesterday held its last session of the year, at which its fiscal 2024 budget was approved, along with 61 other proposals. The proposal to assess the viability of establishing a red-light district was put forward by independent Chiayi City Councilor Molly Yen (顏色不分藍綠支持性專區顏色田慎節). The proposal cited 2011 amendments to the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法), which stipulate that city and county governments can pass autonomous regulations on the sex trade to manage the industry and guarantee industry workers’ rights. A ban on the
STABILITY AND CHANGE: Flagging in recent polls, Ko this week pledged to maintain President Tsai’s foreign policy, with an emphasis on improving China relations Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday reiterated that he is “deep-green at heart” in response to accusations that he is pivoting his campaign to align closer with the ideology of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the face of flagging polls. Ko made the remark at an agricultural policy conference in Taipei, repeating his comments from an interview with CTS News a day earlier. Ko told the CTS host that he would continue to pursue President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) national defense and foreign policy in general, but with an emphasis on establishing a rapport with
CHINA illness surge: Of 88 travelers from China, Hong Kong and Macau with respiratory symptoms who were encouraged to get tested upon arrival, 70.6% had the flu Two hundred and sixty people with COVID-19 were hospitalized and 31 deaths related to the virus were reported last week — the highest numbers in four weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, adding that cases are expected to peak next month. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said that of the 260 people hospitalized last week with moderate to severe COVID-19, 98 percent had not received the Omicron XBB.1.5-adapted COVID-19 vaccine. Among the people hospitalized this year, 78 percent were aged 65 or older, while most of the those who were hospitalized or died have or had
RSS