The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) yesterday started selling tickets for the Mid-Autum Festival holiday, despite a labor dispute between TRA management and train drivers.
About 418,000 tickets were sold as of 4pm for trains that are to operate from Sept. 14 to Sept. 18.
The move upset train drivers and transport service personnel, who said they have yet to conclude another round of negotiations with the TRA’s management and have not given up on their plan to go on strike during the holiday.
Many passengers said they are concerned that they might not be able to go home for the holiday if TRA employees go on a strike.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is an important holiday and the TRA performs an important role in transporting homebound passengers, Minister of Transportation and Communications Hochen Tan (賀陳旦) said.
“I will impose neither the moral expectation nor the sense of responsibility on the drivers, but the holiday is a perfect time to make money and all employees should strive to earn extra money for the system. The management should also pay TRA employees overtime wages,” he said.
The ministry supports TRA employees fighting for what they think they are entitled to, Hochen said.
However, he also said he hopes the employees can work together as a team to meet the public’s needs and help raise the TRA’s revenues.
The TRA has agreed to cut train services starting on Tuesday next week, Hochen said.
Asked what the ministry would do if TRA employees went on strike over the long holiday weekend, Hochen said that the ministry has an emergency response plan.
However, he refused to divulge any details of the plan, saying that he does not want to use the plan as a bargaining chip against TRA employees.
Hochen said that he guaranteed people can buy tickets and go home during the holiday.
According to a newsletter published by the Taiwan Railway Labor Union, the agency has agreed to hire an additional 379 employees and cancel 136 cargo and passenger train services.
The amount of additional bonuses that employees get from the railway would be increased 10 to 20 percent, it added.
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