Taiwan Railway Union launches 'hunger strike' over leave rights

Taipei, Nov. 6 (CNA) Taiwan Railway Union (TRU) representatives started a "hunger strike" Thursday at Taipei train station to protest a Supreme Administrative Court ruling against workers taking leave "legally."

The strike started at 10 a.m. Thursday and will run until 2 p.m. Monday, the union said in a press conference at Taipei station.

The dispute stemmed from 2017, when 337 union members were reprimanded by then-state-run Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) (now called Taiwan Railway Corporation) for taking leave during the Lunar New Year holidays that year from Jan. 27-30, as an act of protest against forced overtime on national holidays.

The latest ruling on Oct. 8 overturned a lower court decision favoring the union, finding that the TRA did not engage in unfair labor practices, concluding that the union acted in bad faith by formally notifying the TRA about the mass leave only on Jan. 23, 2017, leaving "too little time to respond."

TRU secretary Chu Chih-yu (朱智宇) said the ruling, which cannot be appealed, was "extremely unreasonable" and diminished efforts to enhance labor rights.

He claimed that the verdict sets a precedent for suppressing labor activists, adding that Taiwan Railway employees have always risked disciplinary action when demanding fair treatment.

Meanwhile, Taiwan Railway Corp. said in a statement Thursday that it operates in accordance with the Labor Standards Act and "respects judicial decisions."