TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Taiwan Railway Labor Union (TRLU) announced Wednesday (May 25) it was canceling its plan for an overtime ban during the June 3-5 Dragon Boat Festival holiday.
On May 1 (Labor Day), a vast majority of Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) staff did not turn up for work in a protest move against government plans to turn the TRA into a state corporation as a response to a string of fatal accidents. Extra bus and high-speed rail services were organized to meet the demand from travelers that day, while a minimum service of 18 TRA trains still operated.
The TRLU at the time said it would prepare similar actions for later holidays, including the Dragon Boat Festival. However, a union meeting Wednesday decided to cancel those plans because the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) and the Ministry of Labor (MOL) had given positive responses to its demands during a nine-hour marathon meeting last week, the Liberty Times reported.
Even though there were a range of divergent opinions within the membership, the union said it decided that a ban on overtime during next month’s holiday would only damage its reputation. It will look to the government’s future attitude whether there would be overtime bans during the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Double Ten National Day, and on election day, Nov. 26, union officials said.
Transportation Minister Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) welcomed the decision, describing it as a “good start” for a rational discussion about the future of the railways.
