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The topic of teachers on Taiwan unionizing has surfaced several times over the years. Here is the news that its a “Go.”
[quote]Teachers can form labor unions but not to strike
Teachers will be allowed to form labor unions but not to strike, according to amendments to the Union Act passed by the Legislative Yuan yesterday.
The Council of Labor Affairs said the passage in third reading of the Union Act signaled the completion of three significant labor-related acts after efforts lasting more than a decade. The two others were the Group Negotiation Act passed in 2008 and the Labor Dispute Resolution Act from 2009, the CLA said.
CLA Minister Jennifer Wang said the three acts and their amendments would come into force either next Jan. 1 or on Labor Day, May 1.
The National Teachers Association welcomed the change, but expressed regret that teachers still did not hold the right to strike. Teachers now already had the right to solidarity and the right to negotiate, but they were still missing the third major labor right, the right to strike, the association said.
The CLA described the passage as a major step forward but explained its opposition to teacher strikes…(excerpt)[/quote]
Some other interesting parts…
[quote]Another change to the Union Act was the compulsory membership of workers in labor unions, though without the stipulation of fines. When an earlier version of the law was about to win approval last October without that element, labor union leaders said it would cause the demise of their organizations. A dozen unions came out to the Legislative Yuan to protest against the absence of compulsory membership.[/quote]… :loco:
and this bit was also interesting…
edit:
I apologize for not being clear re: this post - This thread is about
TAIWAN
Thank you.
I actually don’t like the concept of compulsory union membership either, but I do recognize that without serious oversight (which conservatives sometimes like to call “government intervention” and so forth), private companies will do their best to push members NOT to join the union and will sometimes find sneaky ways to punish those who do. This happens in the US and is really shitty (some of the more famous cases have turned into movies for those of you not really interested in wading through union legal cases). People should be able to make a choice on their own whether they feel they need assistance from a union and whether they feel paying a union some dues will improve their own job and the workplace in general, or if it will be wasted. It goes without saying - but I’ll say it anyway - that in the past (much more than the present in the US anyway), corrupt unions and their bosses made the whole system look like crap, despite the great work of some unions and union actions. My biggest problem is that governments like to make these laws but don’t put enough effort or money into oversight (SEC comes to mind). It’s like buying a new car without a warranty or a repair shop nearby: it looks great on the outside, but it’s foolish and you’re asking for trouble.
Not sure how this will work without the right to strike. The threat at least needs to be there, even if they never do strike. But unions do other things too, like help protect members if they want to complain to management of complain to government entities, so having some form of union is probably better than no union. And like Obama with healthcare, it’s a start, maybe this will get the ball rolling.
Many schools, esp. in Taipei, already have teachers’ associations. Given that the government still forbids teachers from striking, what can a teachers’ union do that a teachers’ association can’t? How is this a step forward, other than in name?
I’m not being rhetorical. I really do want to know.
[quote=“cranky laowai”]Many schools, esp. in Taipei, already have teachers’ associations. Given that the government still forbids teachers from striking, what can a teachers’ union do that a teachers’ association can’t? How is this a step forward, other than in name?
I’m not being rhetorical. I really do want to know.[/quote]
It isn’t a step forward. Its a sop, that’s all. Yet MORE impotent penis-waving by our revered great leaders.
[quote=“cranky laowai”]Many schools, esp. in Taipei, already have teachers’ associations. Given that the government still forbids teachers from striking, what can a teachers’ union do that a teachers’ association can’t? How is this a step forward, other than in name?
I’m not being rhetorical. I really do want to know.[/quote]
A couple of things came to mind when reading this. Of course any thoughts has to filtered through the gauze of Taiwanification to be realistic.
This means that the gov’t has officially given “sanction” to Teachers Unions. Hypthetically, this means a central negotiation point for contracts, wages and benefits will be established.
Will this actually have any effect on the current situation.
Being Taiwan, this opens up a lot of new doors for graft, corruption and abuse of power - read:money. Who will oversee this group?
How pervasive will the Teachers Unions be? Will it include all schools?
Elementary?, Jr. High?, High Schools?, private schools?, Universities? Trade/Technical Schools?..and the ever-present…Kindy / Engrish School?
IMO, the inclusion of “foreign workers” in the right to hold office in this organization could be a key element in a whole lot of changes happening. But…since they constitute such a small % of the group…can they honestly expect to be elected to any meaningful positions?
A lot of potential…potentially.
Well, its nice to give the old roger an airing out on occasion…fresh air and a bit of sunshine and all that!
