News
Schools closed in northern Taiwan
Courtesy of ICRT
All schools in Taipei and New Taipei, from high schools down to kindergartens, will be suspended from 18-28 May.
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je and New Taipei Ho Yu-yi held a press conference at the same time to make the announcement.
Ko says all high schools, junior high, elementary schools, after-school programmes, kindergartens, and cram schools must switch to online learning for the next two weeks due to the pressing coronavirus situation. In Taipei city, a total of 334,000 students, including those at cram schools, will be affected by the nearly two-week suspension.
Taipei education officials are calling on teachers, students and parents to make the most of the many course materials, tests, and teaching tools currently available online. Ho has announced similar measures for New Taipei.
Officials say that parents who need to take care of their children aged 12 and under can apply for family leave and are urging employers to allow their workers take family leave or epidemic-prevention leave.
According to the Gender Equality in Employment Act, the amount of leave shall be incorporated into leave with personal cause and not exceed seven days in one year.
The Ministry of Labour (MOL) says employers are obligated to grant eligible employees “disease prevention childcare leave”.
Although disease prevention childcare leave is a special measure designed for epidemic prevention in Taiwan, employers are not required to pay workers who take the statutory disease prevention childcare leave.
MOL officials stress that employers face fines of up to NT$300,000 if they reject employees' family leave requests to take care of children aged 12 or under or children of special needs.
Officials say both family leave and virus-prevention leave are unpaid and do not count toward employees' performance appraisal.
