EVA Air ground crew continue protest over poor year-end bonuses

EVA Air ground crew continue protest over poor year-end bonuses

2023-01-02

About 40 ground crew workers for Evergreen Airline Services, on Monday took leave to continue their voluntary protest over poor year-end bonuses. The protest started on Sunday, after workers found their 1-month bonus was far below that of other companies in Evergreen Group, such as a 3-month bonus in EVA Airways and a 45-month bonus in Evergreen Marine. The transport ministry says it has communicated with Evergreen Group, urging it to reassess the ways it hands out bonuses across its subsidiaries.

A long line of passengers stretches from EVA Air’s check-in counters at Taoyuan International Airport. Many people have come well ahead of the departure time amid concerns that their fights could be affected by the protest.

Passenger
I heard there could be some delays. But I didn’t know what the actual situation would be like.

Passengers
There’s was bit of a delay. But they informed us of the schedule change well in advance.

One group of travelers had checked in for their flight but were left waiting in the terminal. Their luggage was slow to be loaded on the plane amid a shortage of luggage handlers.

According to Evergreen Airline Services, about 151, or 30% of ground crew employees, took the day off on Sunday. That fell to just 40 on Monday, or about 10%. The lack of labor resulted in delays of one to two hours on Monday, in contrast with three-hour delays on Sunday.

Member of public
It’s frustrating, but I think we should also put ourselves in their shoes.

Transport minister Wang Kwo-tsai has called on Evergreen Group to offer bigger bonuses to ground crew, so that the issue can be resolved soon.

Voice of Wang Kwo-tsai
Transport minister
Today I got in touch with the head of the Civil Aeronautics Administration. We’ve been in contact with EVA Air Chair Steve Lin, saying that he should bring the figure up. They shouldn’t let Evergreen Airline Services staff go without money through the Lunar New Year. I think Evergreen Group should take care of the employees in its subsidiaries. I expressed our point of view, and he understood our position.

To limit impact to passengers, EVA Air has rescheduled flights so that they are not so concentrated at certain times of the day. Ground crew members say the protests will continue until the company finds a solution.

經協調長榮航勤請假人數減仍有航班受延誤

2023-01-02

因不滿年終獎金只拿到1個月，長榮航勤元旦連假前兩天有上百人臨時請假，航班大亂；經過交通部長王國材、民航局介入溝通後，雖然週一請假人數有減少，加上長榮航空加派支援人力，但仍有許多航班延誤出發。

桃園機場長榮櫃台前，人龍一圈又一圈，許多人擔心自己航班受影響，提前報到。

[[旅客]]
聽說是有一點延誤，但是我們也不知道實際狀況是如何，所以我們就早點過來。

[[旅客]]
“(有延誤)一點點，但是他們很久之前就已經更改了。”

還有大批乘客，雖然登機了，卻因為卡在行李沒人幫忙搬上機，全機上百人，都在乾等。

根據長榮航勤統計，元旦週日，全天就有151人請假，雖然收假日週一，早班降到只有40人請假，請假率從3成掉到1成，但航班仍是全面延誤1到2小時，只比前一天延誤到3小時，好一點點。

[[民眾]]
“無奈啦，但是我們覺得還是要體諒員工。”

交通部長王國材呼籲長榮集團，要妥善照顧員工，讓紛爭早日落幕。

[[聲源:交通部長王國材]]
“我今天也是有跟民航局長，包括長榮航空林寶水董事長都保持聯繫，我請他一定高度要拉上去，不能只是說長榮航勤不賺錢，讓他們年比較不好過，我覺得他應該從長榮集團的高度，往下照顧他子公司的員工，表達我交通部的態度，他了解這個狀況。”

為了降低受影響旅客數，長榮航空將把航班時段錯開，不要集中在同一時間地勤作業。長榮航勤則表示會繼續抗爭下去，直到公司釋出善意。

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Geopolitics is still a major challenge for TSMC. The company’s U.S. plant may surpass its Taiwan plants in research – don’t assume that’s impossible. That is something that may happen, and if it does, keeping the advanced manufacturing process in Taiwan will break it.

The Financial Times report suggested that Samsung and Intel will also invest heavily in 2nm chips. TSMC has only just started mass-producing 3nm chips, while Samsung started shipping 3nm chips in July. There is no brand loyalty in the industry, and whoever can make the most-advanced chips will come out on top, the report said. Also, China is actively poaching talent, and the possibility of TSMC losing its talented engineers cannot be ruled out.

Chai Huan-hsin
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TSMC only has 7,500 research and development engineers, and 500 of those were relocated to the U.S. plant. They move 7% of their advanced R&D engineers, and this is only the first phase. As manufacturing moves forward, the pace of relocating engineers will increase.

Hon Hai chair Young Liu on New Year’s sent a letter to Foxconn employees in China telling them to stay united during stormy days. The company’s plant in China’s Zhengzhou has been facing challenges, but annual growth over the past 11 months still reached 13.5%. The company is expecting a challenging 2023, but will make it through if everyone stays focused on the path forward, he said.

Tech companies expect stormy days ahead for 2023, but how well they get through it will be a test of their management.

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Taking out the trash is a special ritual in Taiwan. And now, in New Taipei, it’s even more exciting! The city has launched a new series of “Trash Talk” cartoons on its official plastic bags, which can be used for shopping and throwing away rubbish. They’re also using a renewable material, so the dual-use bags are even more eco-friendly. And you can order garbage bags with personalized designs. Maybe the trash will always be a chore, but for New Taipei denizens, it’s more and more a cultural phenomenon.

A strong black on white contrast. “I dumped my ex.” “I wish I was garbage.” These “Trash Talk” slogans and cartoons have sent the popularity of these garbage bags soaring. The limited-edition “Trash Talk” series is accompanied by other promotional products designed by official agencies, featuring the unique products of different regions and official messages. There’s even a design promoting electronic receipts.

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In late 2013, we actually decided to get creative in New Taipei government, to combine the shopping bags and garbage bags. So we launched the eco-friendly dual-purpose bags, as they’re known, the first in Taiwan. Producing the bags does take some plastic, so we started to think about using renewable materials for the dual-purpose bags.

The bags are evolving, and it looks like there’s plenty of demand for more. Locals are eagerly anticipating a new release of their favourite old designs with the renewable material, and the launch of more droll drawings.

Member of public
They’re really creative! Like, “throw out your worries.”

Member of public
We can use more of these bags with the pictures.

Alongside the limited-edition eco-friendly bags produced by official agencies, the Environmental Protection Department is also allowing companies and organizations to order bags with their own personalized designs. Who said taking out the trash is a chore? Now it’s a cultural event.

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Vice President Lai Ching-te deferred to President Tsai Ing-wen when asked about cross-strait affairs. At this point, he is set to take over as party chair. People in the DPP say there is a high degree of consensus that he will run for president in 2024.

Lai Jui-lung
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I think the biggest consensus is that Vice President Lai Ching-te will be the DPP’s candidate in the 2024 presidential elections. Everyone recognizes his standing and ability.

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Chao Tien-lin
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With a week to go before the Taipei by-election, DPP candidate Enoch Wu was out canvassing from a campaign truck. DPP Taipei City Councilor Chen E-jun accompanied Wu for part of the day, and fellow councilor Hsu Shu-hua joined him later, as he took to the streets in the northern part of Songshan District.

Before boarding the campaign truck, Wu took the campaign online with a livestream. Meanwhile, his KMT rival Wang Hung-wei held a more solemn event, speaking to supporters from a stage where she was joined by KMT Chair Eric Chu.

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This great mother and councilor is about to take her place in the legislature, where she will be a great mother and legislator.

Wang took the opportunity to speak on her campaign policy, promising to return tax money to residents.

Wang Hung-wei
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The government has reported a tax surplus, and not just over the past two years, so we propose paying money back to the residents. We are very happy by the response to the issue across party lines.

Enoch Wu
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I have also called for this in the past. The most effective way to share this money with the public is through cash subsidies. This is also what the public hopes for.

Wang has increasingly had the support of top KMT party members, but Wu appears unfazed by this, saying that top DPP members will join him in the coming days.

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Our acting party chair, and our prospective party chair, are expected to join me this week. They will canvass together with me.

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The farmers thin the flowers out, to eventually grow the best possible fruit. The top third and bottom third of buds are picked off. That concentrates the nutrients available on the remaining flowers, and also makes the flowers bloom at the same time. That way, the size of the loquat fruit is more even, and they’re easier to harvest.

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The quality is better, and the harvesting time is even, so you can just cut them all off at once.

But the buds that are pruned are not thrown away. They are separated, and rinsed clean in net bags, before being dried to create loquat tea, which is said to be good for the lungs.

Yang Chao-hsin
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It’s written in the “Great Pharmacopoeia,” that loquat is a medicinal plant. The virus in this pandemic mainly targeted our lungs. These loquats are also effective for our lungs.

Loquat has a subtle, sweet fragrance and a delicious herbal flavor. It’s a popular herbal tea. For these farmers, loquat fruit is an important crop. But the pruned buds are also a source of income, a local specialty, and a tradition to hand down to the next generation.

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