Teachers’ meeting leave revocation legal: department

By Sean Lin  /  Staff reporter

The Taipei Department of Education yesterday said that its revocation of meeting leave granted to Taipei Teachers’ Association members was carried out in accordance with the law, amid criticism that the move amounted to a form of bullying against the group.

The department said that the practice of allowing teachers to take up to four hours of leave to attend association meetings had been pronounced illegal and corrected by the Control Yuan in 2014.

The practice had caused it to pay substitute teachers up to NT$10 million (US$315,567) in salaries every year, it said, adding that the revocation of the leave was in line with efforts to uphold transitional justice.

If the need arises for association members to take leave to attend meetings, they should follow the Rules Governing Teachers’ Leave (教師請假規則), it said.

The statement raised the ire of the National Federation of Teachers’ Unions (NFTU), which held a news conference on Tuesday to denounce the cancelation of meeting leave.

NFTU president Chang Hsu-cheng (張旭政) said that the Teachers’ Act (教師法) stipulates that the purpose of teachers’ association meetings were to discuss issues relating to education and pensions, but that the department had painted teachers in a negative light by linking the cancelation of meeting leave to transitional justice, as it implied that teachers had enjoyed a privilege by taking advantage of the leave.

Chang said that meeting leave had traditionally been covered by employment guidelines negotiated between local education authorities and teachers’ unions and associations, and that putting teachers’ meeting leave under the jurisdiction of the Rules Governing Teachers’ Leave would complicate the procedure they need to undergo before being granted leave.

He said that the department should not renege on agreements set forth in employment guidelines on meeting leave until the act is amended to include statutes that deal with the issue.

The NFTU called on the Ministry of Education to shed light on the issue.

In response, the department reiterated its position on canceling the leave.

“It is the hope of both parents and the department that full-time teachers prioritize students’ learning,” the department said. “Teachers are obliged to teach, so they must not affect students’ right to education.”

Department division head Huang Kuo-chung (黃國忠) said that unless the department invited association members to a meeting, it would no longer pay salaries to substitute teachers standing in for teachers attending association meetings, meaning such teachers would need to pay substitute teachers from their own pockets.

The Ministry of Education backed the department’s stance on meeting leave.

The ministry’s Personnel Department said that it used to grant teachers leave to attend teachers’ association meetings hoping to help their operation “get on track.”

However, the department said that the ministry instructed 12 local education authorities to abolish the practice after being corrected by the Control Yuan, adding that with the exception of Taipei, all cities and counties had ended the practice.