Workers from the Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) yesterday successfully called for the renegotiation of a contract between the TRA and the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation (THSRC). They said the present contract would lead to a reduction in TRA services that could cost them their jobs.
Over 1,000 TRA workers from all over Taiwan protested against the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in front of the Legislative Yuan, which was to host a public hearing on the issue yesterday. They said that the ministry had helped the THSRC to take unfair advantage of the TRA by forcing the TRA to sign an unfair contract with the THSRC last year.
The dispute concerns usage by THSRC -- the private company which is constructing the Taipei to Kaohsiung High Speed Railway Line -- of a TRA platform and two railway lines in Taipei.
To help the THSRC's construction project, the TRA was asked to make available in perpetuity to THSRC one platform at Taipei Main Station and two railway lines between that station and Sungshan Station in Taipei from July -- which would force the TRA to cancel 104 of its current 376 daily train services between Taipei and Sungshan. The TRA workers say this will cost the company NT$2.4 billion annually.
The existing contract does not require THSRC to pay compensation to the TRA, but the government is bound by the terms of its own build-operate-transfer contract with the THSRC, which states that it is the government's responsibility to provide such TRA facilities as the THSRC may request.
Huang De-zh (
The PFP legislative caucus hosted the public hearing, which was attended by representatives from the ministry -- including its bureau of high-speed rail and the TRA -- and representatives of the workers.
The workers' representatives asked the government to ask the THSRC to pay a total of NT$3.6 billion for the TRA's loss, and NT$23 billion as rent for using the facilities.
Chang Chia-juch (
Chang emphasized that both the TRA and the high-speed railway project is administered by the ministry, and the two should not be in conflict with each other.
The meeting concluded with the workers' representatives agreeing with Chang that a new contract should be negotiated and that the TRA need not comply with the THSRC's requests until the TRA and THSRC have agreed on a sum for compensation.
The TRA has about 17,000 employees and loses some NT$65 billion annually.
"We need a clear transport policy that separates the high speed railway from the TRA, otherwise, the TRA will just be out of the market," said PFP legislator Thomas Lee (
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS