The Executive Yuan has established an ad hoc team to respond to fallout from a possible strike by EVA Air flight attendants, Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai ( 王國材) said yesterday, adding that the ministry is seeking to resolve the dispute.
Members of the Taoyuan Flight Attendants Union yesterday started voting on a strike. The union is formed by flight attendants from EVA Air and China Airlines. The motion will pass if half of the union’s members and 80 percent of EVA Air employees vote to strike.
The dispute between EVA Air and its flight attendants was discussed at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Democratic Progressive Party legislators Cheng Pao-Ching (鄭寶清) and Chen Ou-po (陳歐珀) as well as Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恆) asked Wang how the ministry plans to respond to a strike.
Premier Su Tseng-tsan (蘇貞昌) has assigned Vice Premier Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) the task of forming an interdepartmental response team, Wang said, adding that ministry officials met with union representatives on Friday.
“We think there are not any major differences between the two parties. We are meeting with representatives from the airline’s management this week hoping to reduce the differences. The union also showed goodwill and is open to holding negotiations with the airline’s management,” Wang said, adding that the ministry hopes that the airline and its employees will reach an agreement before voting on the strike ends on June 6.
Wang also disclosed the issues discussed at Friday’s meeting with the union representatives.
The union insisted that the airline not extend benefits for union members to non-union members — also known as the “free-rider clause” — and that it add a board director to represent the employees, he said.
It has agreed to negotiate only two aviation routes on which flight attendants can be overworked — flights between Taipei and Tokyo and those between Taipei and Beijing — down from nine, he added.
“None of the private companies have a board director representing the workers. We hope there might be alternative solutions to this issue as well as to the free-rider clause, which we would also discuss with the airline’s management this week,” Wang said.
As a strike would likely affect travelers during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday — from June 7 to 9 — or summer vacation, Wang urged people to be cautious when booking tickets for those periods.
The ministry has requested China Airlines and other members of Star Alliance to assist passengers in switching tickets, Wang said.
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