EVA Airways pilots are in two weeks to vote on whether to strike after negotiations with the carrier over salary increases broke down last week, the Taoyuan Union of Pilots said on Tuesday.
Calling a strike a “last resort,” union chairwoman Anny Lee (李信燕) did not rule out the possibility that pilots would vote in favor of it, which could affect people traveling around the Jan. 13 presidential and legislative elections and the Lunar New Year holiday.
However, if members approve a strike, the union would announce it so travelers can make arrangements, Lee said in a video statement.
Photo courtesy of Taoyuan Union Pilots
The airline — which posted a pretax profit of nearly NT$7.1 billion (US$225.21 million) last year and a record profit of NT$16.4 billion in the first three quarters of this year — has refused to fairly share the earnings with its pilots, she said.
Pilots’ wages were frozen from 2011 to last year, which led to a more than 10 percent decrease in their real wages, before they received a 1.5 to 2 percent increase last year, she said.
When the salary situation led to a nearly 10 percent decrease in the number of Taiwanese pilots over the past year, EVA responded by working with an “illegal human resources agency” to recruit a large number of foreign pilots rather than seeking to retain local talent, Lee said.
That not only created unfair competition, but also undermined safety because flight records of foreign pilots were not properly vetted, she said.
As many as two-thirds of foreign pilots hired through the agency left the airline after a relatively short period, she said.
“Many considered EVA Airways a ‘driving school,’ which they left after having accumulated enough flight hours to work for bigger carriers,” she said.
EVA denied the accusations about its pilot recruitment process, saying in a statement that all candidates are required to meet the same standards regardless of nationality.
The union has negotiated with EVA over the pay issue several times since last year without receiving a response to its demands, she said, adding that the airline refused to compromise even after the Taoyuan Department of Labor intervened in February.
EVA said in a statement that it conducts salary adjustments every year, except in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that monthly pay for chief pilots increased by nearly NT$100,000 from 2015 to this year.
The Civil Aeronautics Administration said it hopes the union and EVA can engage in talks and reach an agreement as soon as possible.
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