TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – More than 10,000 staff at the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) will not work overtime on May 1 following unsuccessful talks with Transportation Minister Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材), reports said Friday (April 15).
The decision is likely to disrupt travel plans on Labor Day, as it is a day off for most laborers and office workers — though not for teachers and students. According to Wang, the government has already discussed alternative plans if most of the trains cannot operate on May 1, according to the Liberty Times.
TRA’s union demanded Wang withdraw a plan to corporatize the rail company from the Legislative Yuan, where its review has already started, CNA reported. The plan is the result of several grave fatal accidents involving trains over the past few years.
Wang wants to transform TRA, which is currently an agency under his ministry, into a state-run corporation within three years, without job losses. However, the union has doubts about the handling of TRA debt, salaries, promotions, and pensions.
Wang sat down with the union at the TRA on Friday morning, but the two sides failed to agree, with labor representatives demanding the withdrawal of the government’s reform package from the Legislative Yuan. In a news release after the meeting, the union said 12,000 members, including 1,300 train conductors, had signed a statement saying they would not work any overtime on May 1.
