The Taiwan Railway Labor Union yesterday called off plans to go on strike during the Mid-Autumn Festival, Double Ten National Day and on Nov. 26, when local elections are held, after the Executive Yuan and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications agreed to increase the benefits for Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) employees.
After the ministry earlier this month announced that it would raise low-wage TRA workers’ salaries to at least NT$30,000 (US$991) per month, the railway agency announced that it would from Jan. 1 next year provide subsidies to workers tasked with ensuring operational safety, the union said.
Employees are to receive welfare fund payments in the event of pregnancy and marriage, as well as for funeral arrangements and children’s education, after the agency is turned into a state-run corporation on Jan.1, 2024, the union said, adding that the funding would be supplied by the ministry.
Photo: CNA
“After the TRA becomes Taiwan Railways Corp, employees will get a raise whenever the Executive Yuan raises the salaries for civil servants, military personnel, and public-school teachers and staff,” the union said.
The ministry said it would respect the union’s input in subsequent negotiations over 16 enforcement rules related to the Act for Establishment of State-owned Taiwan Railways Corp (國營臺灣鐵路股份有限公司設置條例), which the legislature passed in May.
“We will continue to fight for employees’ benefits and ensure that the TRA can operate sustainably after it becomes a state-run corporation,” the union said, adding that it would continue to use strikes as a measure in labor disputes with the railway operator.
“We hope that the Executive Yuan and the ministry will keep their promises, so we do not have to go on strike,” the union said.
The TRA said in a statement that it hoped to retain skilled workers by offering higher salaries and better benefits once the corporatization is completed.
Safety of train services would consequently be enhanced, it said.
The ministry has agreed to allocate a one-time budget of NT$1.2 billion for the railway operator’s employee welfare fund during the initial stage of operation as a state-run corporation, it said.
The corporation’s employee welfare committee would take over once it has generated sufficient revenue to fund itself, it said.
In addition to subsidies, welfare funding and bonuses, employee benefits would include life insurance plans for workers’ spouses and children, and housing, the agency said.
Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) have announced that TRA employees would keep their jobs, salaries and benefits after the railway corporation is established, the agency said, adding that the workers would be free to choose whether they want to retain their status as a civil servant or be listed as a corporate employee.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
RSS