Little progress was made in a second round of talks between EVA Airways and the Taoyuan Flight Attendants’ Union (TFAU) over flight attendant pay, work hours and corporate governance, with the union saying that it would take to the streets on Tuesday next week to defend labor rights.
After a six-hour meeting on Wednesday, EVA said it was willing to compromise and adjust the operations of one of the nine round-trip flights that the union sees as “overtime flights,” TFAU secretary-general Cheng Ya-ling (鄭雅菱) said yesterday.
Attendants on the nine flights often work more than 12 hours, the maximum allowed in a single shift under the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法).
Photo courtesy of Taoyuan Flight Attendants’ Union
Flight attendants serving flight BR198/197 on the route between Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Tokyo’s Narita International Airport would be allowed to work only one way and rest overnight, rather than working both legs of the round-trip flight on the same day, she said.
The adjustment would be carried out on a trial basis from November to April next year, when stronger headwinds will make flight times longer, Cheng said, adding it is subject to seasonal considerations.
“It was disappointing that we reached the consensus just 15 minutes before the negotiations ended, while it took both sides two hours to discuss the rules and procedures for our next meeting,” Cheng said, adding that Tuesday’s protest would demonstrate union members’ “strong will.”
EVA said in a statement that it hopes the union can explain its eight requests clearly so that they can reach common ground at the next meeting.
The company had urged the union to broadcast the Wednesday meeting live, but the union refused, EVA said.
“The livestream would … have helped people understand the company’s and the union’s point of view clearly,” EVA said. “We were confused when the union declined, saying that live streaming the meeting would not help resolve the dispute.”
EVA earlier said that it was not willing to raise flight attendants’ per diem rate from US$3 per hour to US$5 per hour.
The airline yesterday said that had proposed substitute compensation.
The union, which said it wants a per diem rate as high as China Airlines staff receive, should explain why US$3 is insufficient, EVA said.
No airlines allow attendants to rest overnight on the nine routes in question, the airline said, adding that it is willing to allow attendants to stay over in certain months during bad weather conditions and to adopt fixed schedules.
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
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
PRO-CHINA SLOGANS: Two DPP members criticized police officers’ lack of action at the scene, saying that law enforcement authorities should investigate the incident Chinese tourists allegedly interrupted a protest in Taipei on Tuesday held by Hong Kongers, knocked down several flags and shouted: “Taiwan and Hong Kong belong to China.” Hong Kong democracy activists were holding a demonstration as Tuesday was China’s National Day. A video posted online by civic group Hong Kong Outlanders shows a couple, who are allegedly Chinese, during the demonstration. “Today is China’s National Day, and I won’t allow the displaying of these flags,” the male yells in the video before pushing some demonstrators and knocking down a few flagpoles. Radio Free Asia reported that some of the demonstrators
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
RSS