TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The Taoyuan Union of Pilots (TUP) disclosed Tuesday (Dec. 12) that since 2011, the real wages of EVA Airways pilots have decreased by more than 10%, causing a nearly 10% loss in the national pilot workforce.
To compensate for this shortage, EVA is accused of collaborating with illegal brokers to recruit a large number of foreign pilots, potentially risking flight safety, TUP said.
TUP reported that EVA's pilots have unanimously passed a resolution to move forward with a strike vote and that details on the timing and action plan are to be announced shortly, with the vote expected within two weeks before the year's end.
Despite boasting a record-high pre-tax profit of almost NT$16.4 billion in the first three quarters of this year, following last year's NT$7.1 billion, EVA has kept pilot wages frozen for over a decade since 2011, reports indicate.
Last year, pilot salaries were marginally adjusted by 1.5% to 2%, failing to keep pace with the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which has risen nearly 13% since 2011, resulting in a real wage decrease of 10% to 12% for pilots.
The airline's per diem for pilots, which hadn't been adjusted in 30 years, saw a meager increase of US$0.3 last year, a figure that falls significantly short of the inflation rates in countries like the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany, which have reached 216%, 209%, and over 160% respectively.
The union's estimate shows that over the past year, more than a hundred national pilots, most being highly experienced, have left EVA. To fill this gap, the airline attempted to hire between 150 to 200 foreign pilots within the year, but due to salary and qualification issues, only a third remained to perform flight duties.
The union criticized EVA Airways for cutting costs, leading to massive staff resignations, including ground staff, and resulting in six safety incidents this year, some with fatalities or serious injuries.
They are requesting that the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) intervene to prompt improvements by EVA and are planning the potential timing and method of a legal strike following the acquisition of the right to do so.