Taipei Songshan Airport Huahang Counter. (Source: Taiwan's "Liberty Times")
Overseas Network, February 11th. According to Taiwan media reports such as " China Times Electronic News ", the strike incident in Taiwan continues to ferment. Due to the huge differences in the perception of "fatigue flights", the negotiations on the 10th were stagnant. It was not until the trade union agreed to return to the negotiating table in the evening. The second negotiation will be held at 5 pm on the 11th.
html At 6 a.m. on the 18th, some pilots from China Airlines in Taiwan launched a strike. At 3 pm on the 9th, led by the Taiwan Transportation Department, China Airlines and the "Pilot Trade Union" began labor-management negotiations for the first time.Taiwan’s transportation department held a response meeting on the 10th, saying that it will continue to urge the two sides of labor and capital to talk, and will also ask the Taoyuan Municipal Government to prepare for consultation or mediation procedures. The Labor Bureau of Taoyuan Municipal Government stated that it still hopes that the labor-management dispute can be resolved and does not consider initiating compulsory arbitration.
It is reported that the reason for the stalemate of the negotiations is the difference in the perception of "fatigue flights". The "pilot union" requires the increase of manpower for long-distance flights, and 3 pilots will be dispatched for long-distance flights of more than 8 hours and 4 pilots will be dispatched for long-distance flights of more than 12 hours. The union believes that the registration preparation before takeoff and the aircraft after landing are both on duty and should be included in the working hours. In addition, the "pilot union" also put forward five major demands, including protecting pilots' right to work and prohibiting pressure on the trade union.
Wang Guocai, acting head of Taiwan's transportation department, said that the aircraft flight operation management regulations are calculated based on flight time, and the international community has not included preparations before departure into duty time, not to mention that the flight times are different and the duty time is very different. I hope the union will make concessions and discuss the 6 to 8-hour flights one by one. Wang Guocai said that he would preside over the negotiation and the negotiation would be completed within one month.
It is understood that if the labor and capital parties are unable to reach an agreement for a long time, the transportation department will not rule out the plan to return to the labor-management authority to resolve the dispute and restart the labor-management mediation mechanism. Both parties may also resolve the issue through arbitration or legal action.
Due to the strike of China Airlines pilots, many flights were cancelled one after another, affecting the normal travel of a large number of passengers. On the morning of the 8th alone, 369 people were affected. Hundreds of passengers began to gather and complain, and were very angry, accusing China Airlines of "having problems" and "why affecting the rights and interests of passengers". There were also emotional passengers who even angrily patted the Huahang counter and asked the other party to show sincerity to solve the problem.
According to previous reports, there was a reason for the sudden strike by the pilot of China Airlines. In July 2018, the "Pilot Union" passed a strike vote and obtained the legal right to strike. After reaching a consensus with the investors to complete the negotiation within one year, it announced a temporary suspension of action. However, unexpectedly, labor and capital disputes recur.
