Taiwan Railway says talks with union ongoing amid strike threat

Taipei, Sept. 13 (CNA) Taiwan Railway Corp. (TR) on Friday said it is still in talks with the labor union regarding festive holiday bonuses for employees, after the latter threatened to strike due to a disagreement over the issue.

The state-owned company made the response in a press release after the Taiwan Railway Labor Union on Thursday threatened to strike amid company plans to issue Mid-Autumn Festival bonuses in the form of vouchers instead of cash.

TR will work with relevant departments to explore the possibility of relaxing the voucher policy and continuing negotiations with the union to reach a consensus, the company said in the release.

TR normally only issues cash bonuses for those that work during the Lunar New Year, but earlier this year, announced plans to give out similar rewards for other festive holidays.

It said the move would be a way to compensate workers for their efforts, while praising them for their diligence, regardless of the time of day.

However, on Sept. 10 the company backtracked, announcing that NT$1,500 worth of vouchers would instead be issued to employees who work during the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival, and the same will also apply to the annual Tomb-Sweeping Festival and Dragon Boat Festival.

The issue of "cash bonuses" for other festive holidays is difficult to implement due to the lack of an existing legal framework to support such measure, TR explained without elaborating as to why it made the original offer.

The union criticized the change from cash to vouchers, saying that TR initially promised during a labor-management meeting this year that there would be a NT$1,500 cash bonus per day for individuals who work during festive holidays.

The union said the company's decision to switch to vouchers showed its complete disregard for employees.

Meanwhile, Transportation and Communications Minister Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) told reporters Friday that he supports TR's decision to give its workers a bonus for working during festive holidays.

Concerning the union's threat to strike, Chen said he has already asked high-level TR officials to discuss the matter with employees so a consensus can be reached.