Opposition parties yesterday said the government should be responsible for any disruption caused to the transport network by industrial action during the Mid-Autumn Festival tomorrow.
"We respect the Taiwan Railway Labor Union's [TRLU] autonomy in deciding to stage a strike," said People First Party (PFP) spokesman Hwang Yih-jiau (黃義交). "It is an issue between management and the work force. The PFP, as an opposition party, remains neutral on this issue."
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Saying that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) had no comment on the union's decision to stage the industrial action, KMT legislative leader Lee Chia-chin (李嘉進) however said that the government should take responsibility for the situation.
"Given that the Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) is a state-run service, the government naturally has to take responsibility for any inconvenience the strike may bring to the general public," Lee said.
"It also needs to ask itself the question: What has it done that prompted the union to want to take their cause to the street," Lee added.
During an extraordinary meeting held in mid-August, the union decided to hold its annual meeting on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival -- one of the year's three major holidays -- as a form of industrial action to protest against plans to turn the state-run TRA into a company.
According to TRLU Chairman Chang Wen-cheng (
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Deputy Secretary-General Lee Ying-yuan (李應元) said yesterday that the union's action not only obstructed the development of the nation's railways but would also severely infringe the rights of people traveling home by train for the holiday.
Lee questioned the role played by a number of PFP members in the union's plans.
Lee accused PFP supporter Lin Hui-kuan (
Lin was also present at a press conference held by DPP legislators on Monday suggesting that railway workers who refuse to work during the Mid-Autumn Festival be fired.
A shouting match erupted after members of the TRLU, led by Lin, showed up at the press conference to confront the DPP legislators, and the union members were ejected from the meeting.
PFP legislative caucus leader Chou His-wei (周錫瑋) said the DPP administration should engage itself in introspection instead of fingering others and putting the blame on the PFP.
"There is no way a single party could instigate such a large strike," Chou said. "The union's strike is the result of the DPP administration's long-time negligence over the union's rights and interests," Chou said.
In related news, PFP Legislator Liu Wen-hsiung (
Instead of engaging in sincere negotiation with the union, Liu said, the ministry spent NT$5 million on a PR firm to help it map out strategies to spread discord within the union and thus dissuade its members from refusing to work during the holiday.
There was no response from the ministry as of press time regarding Liu's charge.
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