The Taoyuan Flight Attendants’ Union yesterday began returning passports and other documents to its members, as flight attendants prepare to end the strike tomorrow.
According to an agreement reached between EVA Airways and the union on Saturday evening, the strike is to officially end tomorrow evening.
The union has the passports, China travel permits and employee identification cards of 2,060 EVA Airways flight attendants, the union said yesterday.
Photo: CNA
Members began picking up their identification documents yesterday at a booth that the union set up outside EVA Airways headquarters in Taoyuan’s Nankan (南崁), union representative Ting Shao-ming (丁紹明) said.
Members have to pick up the documents in person by tomorrow and if they cannot show up on one of the pickup days, the union would safeguard the documents for them, she said.
The flight attendants could return to working EVA Air flights starting on Wednesday, she said, adding that individual work shifts would be determined by the airline.
“After a 17-day strike, everyone is exhausted,” Ting said.
“I am sure that union members, airline management and passengers all hope to see the strike end as soon as possible, and I am glad that the company eventually showed the willingness to cooperate and reached a deal with the union,” she said.
The union would do its best to quickly return the identification documents to members so that they could return to work, she added.
Asked if she was dissatisfied with the strike’s results — as the airline could cut flight attendants’ year-end bonuses if the strike led to reduced profit for the company — Ting said that companies are legally required to pay bonuses if they make a profit.
“At this moment, we will not make assumptions about the bonuses that the company might pay out,” Ting added.
Asked how much the airline might make this year, Ting said that airline management would hopefully not place all the blame on the union.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS