Summary
- EVA Air pilots, represented by TUP, voted to strike as a result of the airline’s refusal to enhance labor conditions and its recruitment of foreign flight crews.
- TUP alleged that EVA Air engaged in potentially unfair labor practices by distributing a questionnaire with just one choice to pilots, exposing their names and attitude toward a possible strike.
- The pilots haven’t determined the precise date of the strike but said that TUP would supply a 24-hour notice before the strike.
EVA Air pilots, represented by the Taoyuan City Pilots Skilled Union (桃園市機師職業工會, TUP), have voted to strike. The union initiated the voting process on December 22, 2023, with it ending on January 21. By January 18, the union stated that it expected its members to approve the labor motion, with the strike being confirmed a day after the vote had ended. The planned strike goes to occur across the upcoming Lunar Recent Yr.
Pay and hiring of foreign pilots dispute
In a press release on January 18, TUP said that it initiated the strike because EVA Air has refused to enhance labor conditions in keeping with the union’s proposal. This includes the loss and shortages of pilots and the airline’s refusal to finish its recruitment of foreign flight crews through intermediaries.
Moreover, TUP alleged that EVA Air has handed out a questionnaire to all its pilots, asking them whether or not they would proceed working in the course of the industrial motion. Because the questionnaire had just one option, namely agree, the union said that this is able to have exposed the pilots’ names and their attitude toward a possible strike, with TUP calling it potentially unfair labor practices from the airline.
The union also noted that it has learned that the Department of Labor of Taoyuan reprimanded EVA Air for alleged violations in hiring foreign pilots after the carrier had hired flight crews without specific aircraft licenses, violating the country’s labor laws. While the Department of Labor said that it respects the union’s decision to fight for its rights, it has not addressed the allegations against EVA Air, noting that it has mediated three meetings between the union and the airline.
Photo: Kent Raney | Shutterstock
Still, despite the Department of Labor’s attempts, in addition to other local authorities attempting to assist in the negotiation process, EVA Air has not responded to the union’s demands, in keeping with the TUP. Consequently, the union will strike before and after the Lunar Recent Yr.
While TUP didn’t provide the precise dates of the strike, it said that it would supply a 24-hour notice to guard the carrier’s passengers. As well as, the union estimated that the proportion of pilots working within the airline’s long-haul fleet is comparatively high, with over 75% of the fleet’s pilots promising to take part in the commercial motion.
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EVA Air denies allegations about illegal hiring practices
In response to the TPU, EVA Air said that the pilot union demanded adjusting the pilot salary structure by 20%, increasing the outstation flying allowance to $6 per hour, and stopping hiring foreign pilots. The airline said that for the reason that union initially made its demands in 2022, it has increased the pilots’ base salary by 20%, increasing the flight allowances concurrently.
Excluding outstation allowances, the entire monthly salary has grown by greater than NT$180,000 ($5,732). As well as, the airline has provided breakfast when flight crews spend the night in foreign cities. The airline exemplified with a Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) flight, saying that in a two-day stay on the latter city, a pilot can be supplied with breakfast and 4 additional meals in the shape of an allowance of $283.
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EVA Air also noted that its commitment to taking good care of its employees has at all times stayed the identical, with the airline saying it has paid out a six-month end-of-year bonus based on its profits last yr, promising additional compensation after ending its current fiscal yr. Nonetheless, it noted that,
The carrier said that it has been forced to rent foreign pilots as a result of a limited pool of pilots domestically, which is why it has arrange a flight school in the USA (US). EVA Air reiterated that the means of choosing which pilots are promoted to Captains is identical between foreign and national crews and that it has filed an appeal against the Department of Labor following by the authority.
Lastly, EVA Air said that out of greater than 1,460 pilots, 543 have supported the strike. The airline stated that it will proceed its negotiations with TUP and, within the meantime, arrange an emergency response team to make sure its operational stability in the course of the industrial motion.
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Results of the vote will probably be published on January fifth.