TAIPEI (TVBS News) — EVA Air on Monday (Jan. 22) urged the Taoyuan Union of Pilots (TUP) to consider customer rights first and vowed to continue labor negotiations, foreseeing a win-win situation for employees, the company, and travelers.
The TUP initiated a strike vote against EVA Air that day, winning the right to strike. Among the 910 pilots who participated in the ballot, 552 were from EVA Air, with 543 votes in favor of the strike, which accounts for 37% of EVA Air pilots.
The pilots' union is requesting three major changes, including a 20% salary structure adjustment, an increase in flight allowances to US$6 per hour at overseas stations, and ceasing the employment of foreign pilots.
EVA Air said it increased the basic salary of pilots by more than 20% as well as their flight allowances, adding at least NT$18,000 to NT$36,000 to each pilot's monthly wage in response to the union's salary demands.
Regarding the issue of hiring foreign pilots, EVA Air stated that due to the shortage of local pilots, it has set up aviation academies in America to recruit and train pilots while also hiring foreign pilots in accordance with regulations.
However, the union refuted EVA Air's claims, stating that they had been waiting for about a year for a response from the company to the union's demands, but no substantive progress had been made in negotiations.
Meanwhile, EVA Air, which was previously penalised by the Ministry of Labor (MOL) and Taoyuan City's Department of Labor for illegal recruitment and employment of foreign pilots, has filed an appeal.