China Airlines CEO Hsieh Shih-chien (center right) and representatives of the union.

Taipei, June 28 (CNA) China Airlines (CAL) has reached an agreement with its workers' union, which had planned a de facto strike Friday for better pay and working conditions, CAL CEO Hsieh Shih-chien (謝世謙) said Tuesday.

In their negotiations, the China Airlines Employees Union and CAL management discussed eight demands put forward by the union and signed a formal agreement, Hsieh said, but declined to give any details of the settlement.

The successful negotiations have averted a labor protest action by the union, which was planned for Friday over working conditions and pay issues, including long-frozen annual seniority-based raises and back pay accrued during the freeze.

The union had also asked that the commuting time of all CAL employees be included in the calculation of their work hours, that the travel allowance for all pilots and cabin crew members be raised to US$5 per hour, that the subsidy for ground staff members be increased, and that the number of their annual holidays be increased from 118 to 123 days.

Other requests included increasing benefits and other remuneration for hourly-paid workers, increasing the subsidy for professional certificates and providing accommodation and transportation for employees assigned to work in a foreign country, while maintaining their subsidies.

Previous negotiations between the union and CAL's new chairman Ho Nuan-hsuan (何煖軒) had broken down after three rounds of talks on Monday, which led to the decision by the union for a third of its members to take on leave on Friday.

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