A union of railway workers that has been threatening to go on strike during next week’s Mid-Autumn Festival if its demands are not met yesterday held a protest outside the Executive Yuan in Taipei.
As part of ongoing protests over low staff numbers, long working hours and forced overtime, members of the Taiwan Railway Union yesterday afternoon presented a petition signed by 1,800 of its members to the Executive Yuan.
The petition demanded that the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) increase its overtime pay and provide a higher allowance for workers forced to work overnight away from home.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
The Executive Yuan sent a representative to negotiate with the union regarding their demands.
Despite heavy rain yesterday afternoon, protesters stood outside the Executive Yuan for hours chanting slogans such as: “Staff must be increased, days off promised must be substantiated” and: “Pay overtime in accordance with the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法).”
Union member Chou Kai (周鍇) said that the TRA had failed to give a straight answer to their demands at a news conference on Tuesday and demanded that staff work overtime during the Mid-Autumn Festival in exchange for overtime pay.
“It is against the Labor Standards Act to force people to work overtime,” Chou said.
The TRA always demands that its employees work during public holidays, paying overtime for those days, but not allowing workers to choose whether or not to work, he said.
The TRA does not provide makeup rest days following the holidays, he added.
“Many people have not been home on Lunar New Year’s Eve since joining the TRA. Their families lament that they do not see their children grow up — that they become strangers,” Chou said.
“These workers are not necessarily planning to take the Mid-Autumn Festival off. That would need to be worked out with related agencies. What we feel at the moment is that overtime pay and overnight allowances should first be increased so that workers feel reasonable progress is being made,” union chairman Wang Jieh (王傑) said.
He added that once staff numbers are brought up to a sufficient level, the TRA could begin scheduling workers in a more reasonable manner, giving them the appropriate days off.
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
STEERING FAILURE: The first boat of its class is experiencing teething issues as it readies for acceptance by the navy, according to a recent story about rudder failure The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first locally built submarine, allegedly suffered a total failure of stern hydraulic systems during the second round of sea acceptance trials on June 26, and sailors were forced to manually operate the X-rudder to turn the submarine and return to port, news Web site Mirror Daily reported yesterday. The report said that tugboats following the Hai Kun assisted the submarine in avoiding collisions with other ships due to the X-rudder malfunctioning. At the time of the report, the submarine had completed its trials and was scheduled to begin diving and surfacing tests in shallow areas. The X-rudder,
RSS