《TAIPEI TIMES》 Politicians mixed on strike laws

FLIGHT ATTENDANT FUROR: Some lawmakers said that employees should give notice before a strike, while others said that it could severely damage their bargaining power

By Jonathan Chin / Staff writer, with CNA

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Party caucuses at the Legislative Yuan yesterday gave mixed opinions on whether there should be a law requiring workers to give employers advance notice of a strike.

EVA Airways flight attendants began a strike at 4pm on Thursday after negotiations with their employer broke down earlier in the day.

A total of 8,600 travelers were affected on the first day of the strike.

Democratic Progressive Party （DPP） legislators Yeh Yi-jin （葉宜津） and Chen Ming-wen （陳明文） had separately proposed amending the law after China Airlines pilots staged a strike earlier this year, DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming （柯建銘） said.

However, a discussion of their proposals is not possible at present, as the Legislative Yuan has already set the schedule for the current extraordinary session and there will not be a regular session until September, Ker said.

Yeh wrote on Facebook yesterday that her proposal suggested that airline unions should guarantee that service volumes do not fall below 40 percent during a strike and should give notice of at least one week, specifying the form and date of the strike, at least one week in advance.

The requirement could be legislated by amending the Civil Aviation Act （民用航空法）, she said.

Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT） caucus whip William Tseng （曾銘宗） said that long hours, low pay and low union membership numbers mean that Taiwan’s working conditions are dissimilar to nations that have such requirements, such as Canada and Japan.

While the requirement could protect consumer interests by giving employers more time to respond, it would severely curtail their employees’ bargaining power, he said, adding that the proposal would have to be “reviewed comprehensively in light of labor rights and public interest.”

New Power Party caucus whip Hsu Yung-ming （徐永明） said his party is concerned that a notice period could infringe on people’s right to strike, before describing the party’s position on the issue as “reserved.”

People First Party caucus whip Lee Hung-chun （李鴻鈞） said that his party suggested similar requirements after the strike at China Airlines, but the Ministry of Transportation and Communications did not appear interested.

Strikes in the transportation and communications sectors should be considered separately on account of their ability to disrupt people’s lives, he said.

While the law does state that unions are obligated to give reasonable notice before a strike, no details are specified, Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Chia-lung （林佳龍） said, adding that the ministry “could review” the issue.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES