Taiwan's EVA Air pilots start strike vote on Friday

台灣長榮航空機師週五開始罷工投票

Pilots union does not rule out launching strike over Lunar New Year


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — EVA Air pilots will hold a vote over a two-week period starting Friday (Dec. 22), and they cannot rule out the possibility that the strike may take place during the Lunar New Year holiday.

EVA Air pilots complained that the airline had cut wages by more than 10% in real terms since 2011 and used illegal intermediaries to recruit foreign pilots to address manpower shortages, reported UDN. The Taoyuan Union of Pilots (TUP) on Monday (Dec. 18) announced its EVA Air members will launch a strike vote from Dec. 22 to Jan. 4, 2024, with results announced on Jan. 5.

The union currently consists of approximately 660 members who are EVA Air employees, and if more than 50% of members vote in favor, they can proceed with the strike. The TUP's target is to achieve a 70% to 90% approval rate.

Although the specific timing of the strike has not been determined, the union has not ruled out that it might be launched as a surprise action around the busy Lunar New Year holiday.

The union held a press conference at the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) and submitted the petition to Yang Bowen (楊博文), a designated technical specialist representing the Civil Aviation Administration.

The TUP said that EVA Air's stringent cost-cutting measures have resulted in a significant manpower shortage in air and ground operations. To address this shortage, the airline allegedly resorted to illegally recruiting a large number of foreign pilots, posing potential and serious risks to passengers.

TUP Chair Lee Hsin-yen (李信燕) said that EVA Air claims to "prioritize the recruitment and training of local pilots." Every year, more than 2,000 Taiwanese express interest in pursuing careers as pilots at EVA Air and apply for the airline's pilot training program.

However, Lee said that only about 100 local candidates have been "accepted" over the past year. In contrast, the number of foreign pilots recruited through illegal intermediaries is nearly twice that number, said Lee.

Lee also said that various departments within EVA Air are severely understaffed. This has led to practices such as excessive overtime and a lack of training, directly and indirectly contributing to a high frequency of safety incidents.

Just last week, the airline listed six major aviation and ground safety incidents that occurred this year. At least two more ground safety-related incidents were reported a week later.

After an investigation, it was found that the causes of these incidents were closely related to inadequate manpower and insufficient training.

Lee said MOTC as the regulatory authority has the responsibility to require EVA Air to make necessary improvements within a specified period. She argued it should also use more stringent administrative measures such as comprehensive reviews and even a reduction of aviation rights to ensure EVA Air "returns to the right path."

In response to the illegal recruitment of foreign pilots, the Taoyuan City Government should conduct labor inspections and issue penalties, said Lee.