Radio Taiwan International
Date: 2017-01-21

The National Federation of Education Unions has announced that it will not participate in a national

Police officials inspect security outside the Presidential Office Building ahead of a meeting on pension reform Sunday that is expected to draw protests. (CNA)

conference on pension reform scheduled for Sunday.

Fixing Taiwan’s deficit-ridden pension system is one of Tsai administration’s priorities. However public sector employees, including teachers, say they have been unfairly blamed for the pension system’s financial problems. The National Federation of Education Unions says that Sunday’s conference is being held so that the government can have the only say on what goes into draft legislation on pension reform.

The union has also criticized Vice President Chen Chien-jen, who heads the Presidential Office’s committee on pension reform. The union says Chen’s recently-released version of a pension reform bill fails to account for the special circumstances of workers in different fields. The union also says that Chen’s suggestions were neither mentioned during a series of twenty meetings on pension reform, nor brought up at any of the four regional forums held around Taiwan to gather local views on the issue. According to the union, not all members of the pension reform committee share Chen’s views, and union members say Chen’s proposals don’t reflect the will of Taiwan’s people.    [FULL  STORY]