Employees of Taiwan Power Company (Taipower,
Taipower managers, however, reiterated yesterday that all employees at the site would be transferred to other positions and that their rights and interests would be protected.
Last Friday, after Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) announced that the plant would be scrapped, Taipower chairman Hsi Shi-chi (席時濟) said at a press conference that about 300 Taipower employees at the construction site would be transferred to other subsidiary offices of Taipower.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
However, yesterday morning, a group of Taipower employees not related to Taipower's union held a panel discussion at the construction site in Kungliao township (貢寮鄉), Taipei County, where the plant was being built.
"We want special compensation arrangements in our pensions," said Chen Meng-jung (
Chen said that if employees receive no response from Taipower, he would bring together more workers and co-operate with opposition parties to highlight the issue.
Lin Chu-wan (林居萬), Taipower's site manager for the Lungmen Construction Office (龍門施工處) in Kungliao, told the Taipei Times that the workers did not need to fear unemployment.
"I was told [by officials in higher positions] that many of Taipower's thermal plants now under construction will require manpower," Lin said.
Lin said Taipower professionals had skills that enabled them to work at either nuclear or thermal power plants.
Before the decision to scrap the plant was made, representatives from Taipower's union visited the Commission of National Corporations (
Reportedly, there are more than 1,100 people working at the site, including Taipower employees, consultants and contract laborers.
Lin said settling with contracted companies would be more difficult, because heavy financial losses are expected as a result of the plant's cancellation.
Lin, however, stressed that Taipower would deal with the cancellation by following procedures listed in contracts.
Huang Huei-yu (
"Some employees still have to stay at the Lungmen construction site for a while to disassemble completed plant components," Huang said.
Huang, however, said that Taipower could not take care of workers hired by Taipower's contracted companies.
Taipower's staff transfers will affect not only personnel at the construction site but also some in nuclear-related departments. The nuclear engineering department, nuclear operations departments, nuclear safety department and others, will have their responsibilities adjusted or reduced. Some, however, expect the re-positioning of high-level officials to be more troublesome.
Super Typhoon Kong-rey is the largest cyclone to impact Taiwan in 27 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind (RMW) — the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds — has expanded to 320km, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. The last time a typhoon of comparable strength with an RMW larger than 300km made landfall in Taiwan was Typhoon Herb in 1996, he said. Herb made landfall between Keelung and Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County with an RMW of 350km, Chang said. The weather station in Alishan (阿里山) recorded 1.09m of
STORM’S PATH: Kong-Rey could be the first typhoon to make landfall in Taiwan in November since Gilda in 1967. Taitung-Green Island ferry services have been halted Tropical Storm Kong-rey is forecast to strengthen into a typhoon early today and could make landfall in Taitung County between late Thursday and early Friday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, Kong-Rey was 1,030km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the nation’s southernmost point, and was moving west at 7kph. The tropical storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126 kph, CWA data showed. After landing in Taitung, the eye of the storm is forecast to move into the Taiwan Strait through central Taiwan on Friday morning, the agency said. With the storm moving
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work