A dozen teachers from daycare centers nationwide yesterday said that a recently revised law violates their employment rights and urged the government to revise the regulation.
Under the new law, qualified teachers applying for work at a center that cares for children under the age of six are required to take the same tests as jobseekers with no experience, Alliance of Educare Trade Unions convener Wang Su-ying (王淑英) told a press conference.
“This puts an unnecessary burden on experienced, hardworking teachers because they need to take time off from work to prepare for exams,” she said, accompanied by legislators.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
“You cannot grade patience and love,” Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiang Hui-chen (江惠貞) said.
Chiang, who was responsible for local daycare center affairs when she headed the Banciao District Government, said that qualified teachers should be accorded certain privileges when taking tests.
According to the Childcare and Preschool Education Act (公立幼兒園契約進用人員之進用考核及待遇辦法), which took effect on Jan. 1, all daycare centers and kindergartens that accept children between the ages of two and six are designated “preschools.”
Teachers who wish to work at a preschool need to pass exams held by the local government. A grace period of one or two years has been given for schools to adjust to the new requirement.
“A good teacher needs a good working environment,” Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lin Shu-fen (林淑芬) said.
Allowances should be made for those who are already doing a good job looking after children, Lin said, proposing an amendment to the law to ease the concerns of daycare centers and parents.
The Council of Labor Affairs issued a press statement in response to the daycare teachers’ demands.
The employment rights of preschool staff are stipulated in the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法), which forbids an employer from laying off employees without legal grounds, the statement said.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to