Taipei Announces 50,000 Vacancies for Retired Civil Servants|爭搶公教票 北市擬推退休公教兼職

Close to 40,000 retired civil servants and teachers in Taipei have been affected by the Tsai Administration's pension reforms, which were promulgated in July. To help counteract the fallout, Taipei City Government has launched a plan that identified 50,000 part-time job openings, of which, retired civil servants and teachers will get priority for. However, some worry that this will erode the opportunities for unemployed young people.


Since the Tsai administration's pension reforms went into effect in July, many retired civil servants and teachers have been feeling the crunch. To help them, Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je asked city agencies to put together a list of job vacancies. The master list has 50,000 part-time job openings, with priority given to retired civil servants and teachers. Ko hosted an information session on the initiative on the 11th.

These are jobs paid by the hour or project. Most of these jobs are existing positions at municipal agencies. What's different is that all else equal, we will try to give priority to retired Taipei City civil servants and teachers whenever possible in the future.

Over 30 city agencies are taking part in the program. The list includes short-term substitute teacher and lecturer jobs as well as spots on various bid review and advisory committees. Hours and pay vary from job to job. Under current regulations, retired civil servants and teachers cannot earn more than NT$ 33,140 per month.

Once these openings are released, the number of jobs available to young, licensed teachers or so-called homeless teachers will plummet.

One educational group says jobs are hard enough to find as it is and young people will have an even harder time finding a job if retired civil servants and teachers with a wealth of experience return to the job market. Meanwhile, National Civil Servants Chair Li Lai-xi, a vocal critic of the Tsai administration's pension reforms, says Ko is probably just trying to work the year-end elections with the program.