Employees of state-run Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) staged a protest at an inauguration ceremony in honor of the company's new chairman yesterday, urging the company to ensure workers' benefits and not to sell the telecom giant's shares to conglomerates.
"The new chairman should make a commitment to retain employees' working rights," said Lu Yen-chung (
Specifically, the new chairman should keep workers' salary levels unchanged and promise no further job cuts, Lu said.
On Wednesday, the Cabinet appointed former vice minister of transportation and communications Hochen Tan (
The union opposed the appointment, saying Mao is qualified for his position and there is no reason to replace him.
The union also said that the sale of Chunghwa shares should be open to individual investors, not just conglomerates. The telecom giant last month sold 1.3 billion shares valued at NT$50.3 per share, of which rival Taiwan Cellular Corp (台灣大哥大) purchased 575 million shares, or 5.75 percent.
The government holds 81.5 percent of the remaining shares in Chunghwa and plans to sell more shares to own less than 49 percent of the company by the end of this year.
According to Lu, once Taiwan Cellular links up with other groups to buy into the telecom giant, they are entitled to a seat on its board.
"This may undermine our company's bottom line," Lu said. "Therefore, we protest the government's decision to sell shares to certain conglomerates, particularly competitors."
Private ownership
In response, Hochen said that increasing Chunghwa's private ownership is his top priority.
"Selling Chunghwa's shares is the government's policy and I will try my best to achieve that goal," he said.
Chunghwa may consider finding strategic partners to buy its shares, Hochen said. "We do not exclude the possibility [of cooperating with other players]," he said, adding that Taiwan Cellular is not the best choice for a strategic partner.
"Taiwan Cellular purchased our shares through public auction, a process which is not under our control," he said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications has submitted a new share sale plan to the Executive Yuan for approval, according to a section chief, surnamed Wang.
Trading auction
"We plan to offer a small portion, about 5 percent, in an after-hours trading auction to local individuals after the Lunar New Year," Wang said, adding that during a second-phase auction a larger proportion of shares, about 13 percent, will be offered at a public auction.
The ministry is expected to finalize the exact amount of shares for sale pending market conditions, he said.
In addition to domestic sales, the government also plans to sell Chunghwa shares via American depositary receipts the first half of this year.
In an effort to placate union concerns regarding rivals gaining seats on the Chunghwa board, the ministry may consider excluding competitors from the public auction, Wang said.
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