EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) pilots have obtained the right to strike following a vote held by the Taoyuan Union of Pilots (TUP), the union announced yesterday.
The union, which consists of 1,398 members, including 640 EVA Air pilots, started voting on Dec. 22 regarding whether EVA Air pilots would go on strike during the Lunar New Year holiday if the airline failed to agree to their demand for a structural pay increase.
Of the 910 TUP members who took part in the vote, 900 voted in favor of a strike and 10 against, the union said.
Photo: CNA
Meanwhile, 543 of the EVA Air pilots in the union voted to strike, while nine opposed it.
The union is demanding that the airline give its pilots a 20 percent raise and increase their international allowance to US$6 per hour from US$3.30 per hour.
Notice would be given at least 24 hours before the start of a strike to give travelers time to prepare, the union said.
Hwang Tay-lin (黃泰林), a professor at the Department of Aviation and Maritime Transportation Management at Chang Jung Christian University, yesterday said that the law should be amended to extend the 24-hour notice before a strike to three or seven days to safeguard passengers’ rights.
Travel Agents’ Association chairman Hsiao Po-jen (蕭博仁) said that a 24-hour notice is too short and does not give travel agencies enough time to notify their tour groups.
The union should not push their rights at the expense of the tourism industry and travelers, he said, expressing the hope that it would reconsider its decision to use strikes as a means to attain its goal.
EVA Air yesterday said it would continue to negotiate with the union, while union president Lee Hsin-yen (李信燕) said it is still open to negotiating with the airline up until the last second.
Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Kuo-hsien (林國顯) said that another negotiation is to be conducted today.
It is hoped that a consensus could be reached to avert a strike, he added.
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