The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed the third reading of the State-run Taiwan Railways Corporation Act (國營台灣鐵路股份有限公司設置條例) that would corporatize the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) and transform it into state-owned Taiwan Railways Corp.
The Executive Yuan is to set the date on which the new act is to take effect as the implementation of some of its regulations would take time to prepare.
Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) hailed the passage of the act as a great start to reforming the TRA, and promised to continue improving its safety and operating efficiency.
Photo taken from Su Tseng-chang’s Facebook page
Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said the act “made history” by passing a third reading with the support of the president, the Cabinet and the legislature.
A cross-agency task force is to be established to review the act and determine the organizational structure by the end of this year, he said, adding that the company is scheduled to begin operations in January next year.
The legislature yesterday reviewed the proposed act and voted on the six articles discarded during cross-caucus negotiations.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus, the Taiwan People’s Party caucus and the New Power Party caucus all proposed motions to amend the articles.
The motions of the DPP caucus passed.
Under the act, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to establish Taiwan Railways Corp and to run a sound railway business through enterprise management.
The act defines the company’s business scope as the operation of rail transport, related affiliated businesses stipulated in the Railway Act (鐵路法), investment, reinvestment or operation of railway-related businesses, and other businesses commissioned or approved by the ministry.
The company can set up branches in Taiwan or abroad based on its business needs, it says.
The company should establish a board of 11 to 15 members and three to five supervisors, it says, adding that one-third of the members should be experts in railway, transportation, industrial management, law or finance.
At least one-fifth of the board members should be appointed by the Taiwan Railway Labor Union (TRLU), and people of any one gender must comprise at least one-third of board members and supervisors, it says.
A security management committee should be established under the board with a general manager who has experience in transportation or business management, the act says.
The ministry should launch a fund to handle the short-term debt of the TRA, including commercial paper issued by the TRA and its subordinate institutions, and loans from financial institutions, it says.
The ministry is to help TRA employees transfer to other agencies according to their will, or be transferred to the new company, it says.
For employees who transfer to the company, the same seniority, salary, system of retirement, pension scheme and working conditions should be maintained, the act says.
For those who voluntarily leave the company within six months of its establishment, a maximum of seven months’ salary will be paid as a relief payment, it says.
TRLU chairman Chen Shih-chieh (陳世杰) said that the act being passed was not surprising and the crucial thing now is the cross-agency task force negotiations.
The TRLU is to form a negotiation group to communicate with the TRA and the ministry, especially on topics such as the welfare of employees and the problem of low salaries paid to junior personnel, he said.
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