The Ministry of Transportation and Communications would work with the Ministry of Labor and the Taoyuan Department of Labor to help facilitate talks between EVA Air Corp and its flight attendants, as the latter are on May 13 to vote on whether to hold a strike, Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday.
EVA flight attendants, who are members of the Taoyuan Flight Attendants’ Union, yesterday told a news conference that the vote would be held from May 13 to June 6.
The union has 5,600 members, 3,000 of whom work for EVA, they said, adding that at least half of the union’s members must agree to launch a strike, as well as at least 2,400 EVA flight attendants.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
The union would not organize any strike unless the two criteria are met, it said.
The flight attendants also said that they are open to talks with Lin and President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
“I believe that EVA employees are proud of their company, even though both sides have yet to settle their disputes and flight attendants have activated procedures to organize a strike,” Lin said. “However, as long as there is still hope, we hope that both sides can continue to negotiate.”
Asked if he would meet with union members, Lin said that he has been monitoring developments and is working with the labor ministry to help the two sides communicate with each another.
“Both parties are acting rationally and the employees’ appeals should be heard. However, both sides should be willing to make concessions, or else a strike would hurt both sides and affect the company’s image and competitiveness,” he said, adding that the transportation ministry would work until the last minute to prevent a strike from happening.
Travelers and airline management must also be prepared for the possibility of a strike, he added.
Meanwhile, a report from the department showed that EVA’s daily allowance for overnight stays for flight attendants in other countries are comparable to those offered by other airlines.
However, the airline’s flight attendants feel that their daily allowance is too low and have asked that it be raised from NT$90 to NT$150 per hour, the same as the rate offered to China Airlines’ flight attendants.
The two have different ways of calculating reasonable daily allowances, the report said.
EVA flight attendants are provided free breakfast at every flight destination and have longer rest times, the report said, adding that they have more opportunities to apply for per diem allowances, because EVA offers more flights than China Airlines.
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