TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The chair of Taiwan’s National Federation of Teachers Union (NFTU) began a hunger strike on Tuesday morning (Aug. 20) to protest the government’s proposed pension budget for teachers.

NFTU Chair Hou Chun-liang (侯俊良) and other union members gathered outside the Cabinet in Taipei to protest the government’s plan on Tuesday. Hou said the hunger strike was launched after government interactions had failed to yield a satisfactory outcome, per CNA.

The NFTU said the Cabinet's new budget, which will be submitted to the legislature on Thursday (Aug. 22) for review, allocates NT$130 billion (US$4.07 billion) for pension and insurance funds for general public sector staff. However, the union pointed out that only NT$19.4 billion has been allocated to the pension fund for public teaching personnel.

The Cabinet has reportedly drafted a plan to allocate pension funding for public teaching personnel over 20 years. The NFTU is also calling for this to be revised to a 10-year allocation period, saying it will be more cost-effective for the government and better for teachers in the long run, according to a press release.  

Hou said that if the proposed amount is allocated over the 20-year timeframe, the government will neglect its legal responsibility to protect the rights and interests of public teaching personnel. Hou said he is going on the hunger strike to protest most strongly and hopes to “wake up” those in government to the need for change.