Several civil activists yesterday criticized a proposal by the Cabinet that would allow teachers to organize labor unions but bar teachers at the same school from forming unions.
National Teachers Association (NTA) president Kevin Wu (吳忠泰) told a press conference that activists who had been pushing for reform of the Labor Union Act (工會法) were “very disappointed” at the proposal.
Describing the proposal as “discriminatory,” Wu said it was hostile toward labor unions.
If the bill were passed, teachers would be allowed to organize labor unions for the very first time since the Labor Union Act was enacted in 1929, Wu said.
However, the bill would also introduce an article banning teachers from forming labor unions with their colleagues at the same school, Wu said.
“Judging from the proposal, the government still believes that teachers will revolt against school authority and impede school management,” Wu said.
Taiwan Confederation of Trade Unions secretary-general Hsieh Tsuan-chih (謝創智) said his organization was also opposed to the Cabinet’s proposal and another proposed amendment to the Settlement of Labor-Management Disputes Act (勞資爭議處理法) that would loosen restrictions against striking in most sectors, but would exclude teachers, civil servants and military personnel.
“The two proposed amendments should focus on how to establish a sound mechanism to mediate conflicts between employers and employees [instead of introducing restrictions on strikes],” Hsieh said.
National Federation of Bank Employees secretary-general Han Shih-shian (韓仕賢) called the proposed amendment a “setback.”
“The Settlement of Labor-Management Disputes Act did not impose any restrictions on workers’ right to go on strike when it was enacted in 1928. So why are we introducing the restrictions now?” Han asked.
Foreign tourists who purchase a seven-day Taiwan Pass are to get a second one free of charge as part of a government bid to boost tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. A pair of Taiwan Passes is priced at NT$5,000 (US$156.44), an agency staff member said, adding that the passes can be used separately. The pass can be used in many of Taiwan’s major cities and to travel to several tourist resorts. It expires seven days after it is first used. The pass is a three-in-one package covering the high-speed rail system, mass rapid transport (MRT) services and the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle services,
Drinking a lot of water or milk would not help a person who has ingested terbufos, a toxic chemical that has been identified as the likely cause of three deaths, a health expert said yesterday. An 83-year-old woman surnamed Tseng (曾) and two others died this week after eating millet dumplings with snails that Tseng had made. Tseng died on Tuesday and others ate the leftovers when they went to her home to mourn her death that evening. Twelve people became ill after eating the dumplings following Tseng’s death. Their symptoms included vomiting and convulsions. Six were hospitalized, with two of them
DIVA-READY: The city’s deadline for the repairs is one day before pop star Jody Chiang is to perform at the Taipei Dome for the city’s Double Ten National Day celebrations The Taipei City Government has asked Farglory Group (遠雄集團) to repair serious water leaks in the Taipei Dome before Friday next week, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday, following complaints that many areas at the stadium were leaking during two baseball games over the weekend. The dome on Saturday and Sunday hosted two games in tribute to CTBC Brothers’ star Chou Szu-chi (周思齊) ahead of his retirement from the CPBL. The games each attracted about 40,000 people, filling the stadium to capacity. However, amid heavy rain, many people reported water leaking on some seats, at the entrance and exit areas, and the
BIG collection: The herbarium holds more than 560,000 specimens, from the Japanese colonial period to the present, including the Wulai azalea, which is now extinct in the wild The largest collection of plant specimens in Taiwan, the Taipei Botanical Garden’s herbarium, is celebrating its 100th anniversary with an exhibition that opened on Friday. The herbarium provides critical historical documents for botanists and is the first of its kind in Taiwan, Taiwan Forestry Research Institute director Tseng Yen-hsueh (曾彥學) said. It is housed in a two-story red brick building, which opened during 1924. At the time, it stored 30,000 plant specimens from almost 6,000 species, including Taiwanese plant samples collected by Tomitaro Makino, the “father of Japanese botany,” Tseng said. The herbarium collection has grown in the century since its