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🇹🇼 Taiwan /Culture & Society

Taiwan teacher unions demand legal protection for hourly fees

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Eleven Taiwanese teacher unions are calling for legal amendments to guarantee hourly teaching fees, which are currently excluded from regular salary regulations.
  • Legislators from both major parties have pledged to review the law, addressing disparities in pay between public and private schools, and across different regions.
  • The unions argue that excluding hourly fees from the Teachers' Pay Act creates a loophole, leading to inconsistent pay and unfair treatment for educators.

Taiwan's education system faces a persistent issue with hourly teaching fees, often referred to as "clock-in fees," which remain outside the scope of regular salary regulations despite the "Teachers' Pay Act" being in effect for a decade. Eleven teacher unions, including the Yilan County Teachers' Professional Union, held a press conference on June 25 to urge lawmakers to amend the law and provide legal protection for these fees.

The current system still has issues with inconsistent treatment between public and private schools, and between urban and rural areas.

— Ko Chih-enKMT Legislator Ko Chih-en explaining the disparities in teacher pay.

Legislators acknowledged the problem. KMT Legislator Ko Chih-en highlighted that private school teachers often receive only 70-80% of the hourly rates paid in public schools due to "financial autonomy." She also pointed out that teachers in less affluent counties face different treatment compared to those in wealthier ones. "Teachers should not be treated differently based on their school's affiliation or the local government's financial condition," Ko stated, vowing to ensure fair treatment.

DPP Legislator Fan Yun revealed another layer of the issue: adjusted hourly rates do not apply to after-school care programs. This means teachers working during these times, essentially "overtime," receive even lower pay than their regular hourly rates. "Reasonable compensation is not an extra favor but a basic requirement for maintaining teaching quality and educational equity," Fan said, promising to study legislative options to close this loophole.

Reasonable compensation is not an extra favor but a basic requirement for maintaining teaching quality and educational equity.

— Fan YunDPP Legislator Fan Yun on the need for fair pay, especially for after-school programs.

The unions argue that the current system creates a "one country, multiple systems" scenario, where private schools and local governments set their own standards, leading to a chaotic and unfair pay structure. They are pushing for a unified, legally protected standard for hourly teaching fees to uphold the principle of equal pay for equal work and ensure educational dignity.

We urge lawmakers from all parties to work together to amend the law and comprehensively regulate school teachers' hourly fees.

— Teacher union representativeDuring a press conference calling for legislative action.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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