More than 100 academics yesterday expressed support for China Airlines (CAL) pilots as their strike entered its sixth day, urging members of the public to view it in a positive light.
The strike has not only pushed the airline to improve flight safety by agreeing to cut pilots’ flight time, but also showcased how social progress can be made when workers resort to strikes, academics said in a joint statement.
“We believe the pilots’ demand for safer flight policies not only benefits the public, but offers them an opportunity to understand the progressive values embodied in strikes, as well as the ways in which such actions can promote more equal employer-staff relationships,” they said.
Members of the public should “view the strike in a positive light,” instead of “with hostility,” it said, adding that the media should not villainize union members.
The statement was signed by 15 academics when it was issued at noon yesterday. That number grew to more than 100 within a matter of hours.
Among the initial 15 academics who signed the statement were National Chengchi University sociology professor Liu Mei-chun (劉梅君), Shih Hsin University associate sociology professor Chen Cheng-liang (陳政亮), Soochow University associate law professor Hu Po-yen (胡博硯) and National Taiwan Normal University English professor Huang Han-yu (黃涵榆).
Despite having strong support from unions nationwide, the strike has been criticized by many travel agencies, certain China Airlines staff and some members of the public for the inconvenience it has caused travelers and for undermining the airline’s financial prospects.
Certain media outlets have also drawn attention to the strike being led by the Taoyuan Union of Pilots, which includes many pilots who work for EVA Airways, China Airlines’ main competitor in Taiwan.
No workers would prefer to go on strike unless it was necessary to improve their labor conditions, the academics said in the statement.
“Once an employee goes on strike, they immediately lose their income and risk retaliation from their employer,” they said.
Before the airline eventually agreed to reduce pilots’ flight time in negotiations earlier yesterday, the union had been making demands for half a year and voted to launch a strike as early as Aug. 7 last year, the academics said.
“The negotiation process made it clear that without resorting to a strike, pilots’ work conditions would not have improved,” they said.
There are 77 incidents of Taiwanese travelers going missing in China between January last year and last month, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said. More than 40 remain unreachable, SEF Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) said on Friday. Most of the reachable people in the more than 30 other incidents were allegedly involved in fraud, while some had disappeared for personal reasons, Luo said. One of these people is Kuo Yu-hsuan (郭宇軒), a 22-year-old Taiwanese man from Kaohsiung who went missing while visiting China in August. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office last month said in a news statement that he was under investigation
‘JOINT SWORD’: Whatever President Lai says in his Double Ten speech, China would use it as a pretext to launch ‘punishment’ drills for his ‘separatist’ views, an official said China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming national day speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials said. China in May launched “punishment” drills around Taiwan shortly after Lai’s inauguration, in what Beijing said was a response to “separatist acts,” sending heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated Lai. The May drills were dubbed “Joint Sword — 2024A” and drew concerns from capitals, including Washington. Lai is to deliver a key speech on Thursday in front of the Presidential Office
An aviation jacket patch showing a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh has become popular overseas, including at an aviation festival held by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force at the Ashiya Airbase yesterday. The patch was designed last year by Taiwanese designer Hsu Fu-yu (徐福佑), who said that it was inspired by Taiwan’s countermeasures against frequent Chinese military aircraft incursions. The badge shows a Formosan black bear holding a Republic of China flag as it punches Winnie the Pooh — a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — who is dressed in red and is holding a honey pot with
Celebrations marking Double Ten National Day are to begin in Taipei today before culminating in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on the night of Thursday next week. To start the celebrations, a concert is to be held at the Taipei Dome at 4pm today, featuring a lineup of award-winning singers, including Jody Chiang (江蕙), Samingad (紀曉君) and Huang Fei (黃妃), Taipei tourism bureau official Chueh Yu-ling (闕玉玲) told a news conference yesterday. School choirs, including the Pqwasan na Taoshan Choir and Hngzyang na Matui & Nahuy Children’s Choir, and the Ministry of National Defense Symphony Orchestra, flag presentation unit and choirs,
RSS