The provisional board of directors of Chunghwa Telecom Workers' Union (CTWU) decided yesterday to stage a demonstration a week today to protest over the possible loss of privileges when the company is privatized. Some 10,000 union members are expected to join the demonstration.
The union insists that its members maintain the various privileges they have because of their status as civil servants.
State-run Chunghwa Telecom plans to privatize by July 2001, after which its employees will no longer be qualified for public employee status.
Tseng Chi-ming (
The union strongly condemned Minister of Transportation and Communications Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭) yesterday, for her remarks that Chunghwa employees' request for additional preferential treatment in the IPO is "insatiable greed."
Some agitated union members responded they would demand Yeh step down if she does not meet their request.
"Her words hurt our feelings," said Chen Jun-chou (
Yeh emphasized that Chunghwa Telecom is public property and said: "I'm not afraid to quit if I fail to defend social justice as an administrative official," she said.
"We made significant contributions with great profits to the government. How can we tolerate such criticism from Yeh?" asked Chen rhetorically.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) announced a floor price of NT$104 in the sale of a 33 percent stake of the firm, double the union's anticipated stake.
The MOTC, based on laws regulating the privatization of state-run enterprises, had agreed to discounts on share prices for Chunghwa employees. Workers at Chunghwa were offered a 10 percent discount on Chunghwa shares if they agree to hold the stocks for two years. Those who agreed not to sell their shares within three years were offered a discount of 20 percent.
Moreover, Chunghwa staff were offered a plan to purchase an additional 6 percent, 7 percent or 9 percent of their total purchased shares for a marginal price depending on the time of holding the stocks.
The CTWU had anticipated an IPO share price of about NT$40 for stocks sold to the telecom's employees.
"Our request for a lower price for employees to purchase shares is reasonable. We will have to risk keeping shares when the value of Chunghwa Telecom's stocks declines in the market for discounts on shares," Chen said.
"I think the only way to ensure the employees' benefits is to lower the share price, particularly for Chunghwa staff," Chen said.
Given that the share value offered to the telecom's workers was fixed, the announced IPO share price of NT$104 drastically cut the number of shares available specifically for Chunghwa employees to well below the anticipated level expected by the CTWU.
"I'm convinced that the prosperity of the company will be more assured if we are allowed to hold more shares at low prices, because we'll devote ourselves more to boosting the value of our shares in hand," Chen said.
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