The union of China Airlines (CAL, 中華航空), the nation’s largest airline company, yesterday announced that its members would “go on leave” on Friday after talks with management earlier in the day failed to reach a conclusion.
That could mean the airline is hit by a another strike, this time at the start of the summer travel season, after similar action by CAL flight attendants paralyzed most of the airline’s flights on Friday and Saturday.
Members of the China Airlines Employees Union, which covers ground staff, pilots, maintenance workers and other China Airlines employees, are seeking some of the same benefits won by the Taoyuan Flight Attendants Union on Friday.
Photo: CNA
The China Airlines Employees Union demands that the airline restore the long-frozen annual seniority-based raises and backpay accrued during the seniority freeze.
It also demands that the commuting hours of all CAL employees be included in the calculation of their work hours, that the travel allowance for all pilots and cabin crew members be raised to US$5 per hour, that the subsidy for ground staff members be increased, and that their number of annual holidays be increased from 118 to 123 days.
Other requests include increasing benefits and other remuneration for hourly-paid workers, increasing the subsidy for professional certificates and providing lodging and transportation to employees assigned to work in a foreign country, while maintaining their subsidies.
Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
The China Airlines Employees Union’s first round of negotiations with new CAL chairman Ho Nuan-hsuan (何煖軒) yesterday appeared to have gone badly, with the talks beginning at 10am and ending at 3:30pm, with three breaks called to calm participants, which did not seem to have the desired effect.
Before the negotiations began, union representatives took offense at Ho’s tardiness and responded by pounding the table when he appeared 15 minutes late.
Following hours of heated exchanges, the first round of negotiations closed without reaching consensus on any of the eight union demands.
Photo CNA
The negotiations broke down after Ho asked the union to allow him to respond to the requests in two weeks’ time, which was rejected.
Ho, who assumed the post on Thursday last week, said he had not seen the demands before yesterday, and as a result could not “give yes or no answers to them at the present time.”
“Some of these demands are essay questions instead of yes or no questions, which makes it impossible for me to say yes or no on the spot,” he said.
Union representatives said that they had forwarded their list of demands last week, to which Ho said he would have preferred “a final list, not a rough one. I cannot be expected to respond or discuss a rough [draft] list.”
A union representative asked why Ho was able to respond to the demands of the Taoyuan Flight Attendants Union within three or four days’ time without consulting the balance sheets.
Ho said he had received information about the flight attendants’ strike prior to taking office, and that estimates of the costs had been calculated beforehand.
CAL was founded with government funds in 1959 and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications remains a major shareholder.
Separately yesterday, the Employees’ Union of Mandarin Airlines, (華信航空) CAL’s subsidiary, also threatened to strike if the company fails to answer its demand for the same wages and subsidies for its flight attendants as those received by CAL flight attendants.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from