Members of rail union shout down DPP legislators

A news conference called by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators yesterday to urge that railway workers who refuse to work during the Mid-Autumn Festival should be fired turned into a shouting match after members of the Taiwan Railway Labor Union (TRLU) showed up to confront them.

The union has asked its mem-bers to attend a conference on Thursday, the day of the festival, to protest plans to privatize the state-run Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA).

Legislators Chiang Chao-yi (江昭儀), Hou Shui-sheng (侯水盛) and Lee Chen-nan (李鎮楠) said the Ministry of Transportation and Communications should show no leniency to workers who disrupt rail services during the festival, especially as there are now so many people who are willing to work but don't have jobs.

"The law clearly states that civil servants who work in shifts do not necessarily get the Mid-Autumn Festival off. What the union is doing is clearly illegal," Chiang said.

"With so many people unemployed, TRLU members who prevent train operations during the festival should be fired," Lee said.

The news conference was interrupted several times by TRLU members, including chairman Chang Wen-cheng (張文正).

"I have a right to be here today. Is there a law that forbids the TRLU from entering the legislature?" Chang asked.

Chiang he also had a right to express his opinions and asked that the union representatives leave if they planned to disrupt the press conference. He said that if the workers were present as interested citizens, then there would be no problem.

Union agreed to take off the vests that identified them as TRLU members, saying that as constituents, they could still participate in the meeting.

The arguments continued, however, and security guards were called to prevent the war of words between Chang and Chiang from turning physical.

Chang the other union members were eventually escorted out of the building.

Later the day Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Ling-san (林陵三), along with Huang Te-chih (黃德治), TRA director general rebuked the union over its members' recent behavior and activities.

"I'd like to apologize to the people of Taiwan. I am sorry that members of the TRLU have failed to fulfill their duty to society," Lin said.

Huang that the majority of the trains would run as scheduled on the holiday, although, as in previous years, the TRA would make minor adjustments depending on the needs of consumers.

He reported that ticket sales for Thursday are approximately 40 percent of normal.

"More serious than the decline in ticket sales is the fact that consumers no longer trust the TRA," Huang said.

The ministry is posting holiday travel information on a special Web site (moon.iot.gov.tw).