A foreign pilot dismissed by EVA Airways in 2001 as part of its workforce reduction after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the US won a lawsuit against the airline.
The Taipei District Court ruled last week that the airline must pay an additional NT$1.17 million (US$35,600) as part of its termination of contract payment to John Dunton, who had worked at the airline for more than six years.
EVA Air, the nation's second-largest air carrier, terminated its continuous contract with Dunton by serving him a one-day notice on Oct. 3, 2001. The airline gave him NT$298,737 in severance pay, plus a one-way ticket home.
The pilot filed a civil complaint last December, claiming his severance package did not correspond to what he was entitled as per the Labor Standards Law (勞動基準法).
Article 16 of the law stipulates that when a worker has worked continuously for more than three years, an employer wishing to terminate a contract must give formal notice 30 days in advance, or pay the worker for the advance notice period, in addition to a severance payment.
The article further states that the calculation of the severance payment should be based on the employee's average wage over the six months prior to termination and that the employee is entitled to a month's pay for each full year served.
EVA Air argued that according to Article 126 of the Civil Code
However, the court ruled that the payments sought by Dunton constituted a "deferred penalty payment," which can be claimed within 15 years.
In May, EVA Air lost a similar case when the Taipei District Court ruled that it must pay Ljubinovic Rada, a pilot from the former Yugoslavia who worked for the airline for six-and-a-half years, an additional NT$1.5 million for failing to give him severance pay in accordance with the Labor Standards Law after dismissing him in 2001.
EVA Air lost the case, although its lawyers argued in court that Rada had already received NT$372,000 -- the equivalent of three months' salary -- plus a "compensation fee" and a free ticket to Europe.
EVA Air can appeal both cases to the Taiwan High Court.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard