DPP urges rail union to shelve holiday job action

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) urged the Taiwan Railway Labor Union yesterday to cancel planned job action by 10,000 workers to avert a disruption to rail service during today's Mid-Autumn Festival.

Citing opinion poll indicating nearly three-quarters of the public disagreed with the union's action, DPP legislative caucus whip Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said yesterday the job action is inappropriate and would damage the Taiwan Railway Administration's (TRA) image.

The poll, conducted by DPP headquarters, said 72.3 percent of the respondents deemed the planned job action inappropriate, and only 11.8 percent agreed with the plan to not show up for work; 15.9 percent did not express an opinion on the issue.

The poll, conducted on Monday and Tuesday, questioned 1,409 respondents aged over 20. The survey has a margin of error of 2.7 percent.

Transportation Committee convener and DPP Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌琅) said yesterday, "If the railway union insists on calling the strike, there will be serious damage done to the TRA's reputation. That would hurt the TRA's competitiveness and long-term operations."

"We plead with union workers not to stage such a walkout so as to allow passengers to go home for the moon festival," Tsai said, adding that he was speaking on behalf of the public and those relying on the railway for transportation during the holiday.

Tsai the government has reached an initial consensus with the union leadership regarding the union's five requests to protect its interests and rights. The requests include that the TRA not be incorporated before July 1 and that the government spend NT$100 billion from a five-year NT$500 billion special budget to cover the debts of the TRA.

DPP Deputy Secretary-General Lee Ying-yuan (李應元) said yesterday the party respects the union's rights to assemble, argue and strike on the basis that no public interests are compromised.

However, Lee said, union workers who insist on walking off the job would seriously infringe on passengers' rights.

"The rail union workers are walking the gray areas of the law," Lee said.

Lee the government has held eight discussions with the union and reached five agreements on Aug. 29, in which the union promised to cancel the protest assembly on today's national holiday.

"The unions would have violated the previous agreements if they insist on staging a strike," Lee said.

According to DPP statistics, the TRA has a deficit of NT$77 billion. Its accumulated debts and pension liabilities total NT$180 billion.

When the Taiwan High Speed Railway begins operations, the TRA is expected to see more financial trouble unless it restructures.

Liang Wen-chien (梁文傑), deputy director of the DPP's policy research and coordinating committee, said the government plans to incorporate the TRA instead of privatizing it and that, therefore, the workers' rights would not be sabotaged.

"During the process of incorporation, the government will shoulder all of the TRA's debts and no employees will be laid off. The incorporated TRA will become a state-run enterprise and the employees will retain their rights. Preferential pensions will be given if the employees want to have early retirement," Liang said.

The TRA is currently a government agency, and the TRA employees claim that their rights will be reduced if the agency is incorporated or privatized.