TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The pilots of EVA Air, one of Taiwan's leading airlines, have voted in favor of strike action, revealed on Monday (Jan. 22). Should the strike go ahead, this will mark the fourth labor strike in Taiwan’s aviation history.
To date, the aviation industry in Taiwan has undergone three key strikes. The first occurred in 2016, initiated by flight attendants at China Airlines. The seven demands of the strike included changes to working hours, increased protection of annual leave rights, and increases in their overseas allowances. The strike began on June 24 and lasted three days, forcing over 100 flights to be canceled and impacting over 30,000 passengers.
Following the culmination of the flight attendant strike, China Airlines pilots announced their strike on Feb. 8, 2019, during the busy Lunar New Year holiday period. Major demands were made to address pilot overwork, demanding additional staffing for overworked flights, and increased transparency in pilot training procedures. Lasting seven days, the strike led to 214 flights being canceled, impacting over 25,000 passengers.
Roughly four months later, EVA Air flight attendants initiated a strike following several failed mediations between labor and capital. Their eight points of demand included changes to daily allowances, improvements to flight fatigue, and assurances about double pay on national holidays.
The strike began on June 20 after negotiations broke down and ended on June 28 after union leaders met with EVA Airways chairman Steve Lin and agreed to a modification plan under the coordination of the Ministry of Labor. This strike lasted for a record 17 days, resulting in 1,440 canceled flights and almost 280,000 affected passengers.