The Taiwan Railway Labor Union (TRLU) wanted to stop train services by holding a membership meeting on Thursday, the Mid-Autumn Festival. But its plans to disrupt rail services failed as enough employees showed up for work to allow the Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) to maintain scheduled service. However, the union members attending the meeting -- the first of its kind -- voted to hold a seven-day strike during the Lunar New Year holidays next year. By setting a strike date so far in advance, the union has left itself some room for maneuver. So both the union and the government can declare victory in Thursday's showdown.
It was a rare experience for both the government and the labor union. The fact that both labor and capital were able to rein in their horses at the edge of the precipice is a cause for celebration. Taiwan should learn from this failed labor strike the ideas of democracic compromise, dialogue, communication and empathy for the other side's interests, respect for the right to strike and the government's crisis management, which are all important concepts in the implementation of democracy.
Both sides were angry in this conflict. Both deviated from the rational attitude that is necessary in the negotiation process. Talks were reduced to a brawl, a war of words. Interference from the Chinese Federation of Labor (
Labor strikes are a constitutional right that neither the government nor capitalists can deny under the pretexts of society's needs. A rail strike is quite unprecedented in Taiwan, but it is nothing new in other democratic countries. Society should view it with equanimity. The government should forget past authoritarian attitudes and negotiate with a democratic mindset that gives equal status to the government and the private sector. The labor side, however, must not abuse the constitutionally guaranteed right to strike, engage in exorbitant extortion or refuse to compromise.
Remarks by Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Ling-san (
The government's attitude toward labor strikes will be determined by the social atmosphere. The TRLU's demands that the government halt the privatization of the railway, pay all the TRA's debts, grant more employee benefits and keep the TRA as a government agency. Those demands may cost as much as NT$160 billion. A majority of the public view this as extortion by the union members and do not sympathize with them. The lack of public support for the labor side will strengthen the government's determination to reform the TRA -- at the cost of a rail strike if necessary.
The government should handle the matter rationally by insisting on reforming the TRA under the premise of respecting workers' right to strike. The government is close to reaching an agreement with the union on various labor benefits. Both sides should work hard to reach a deal before the Lunar New Year holidays, in order to prevent a strike.
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