China Airlines Pilots on Strike for the First Time, Revealing Shadows of Internecine Fights among Officials

 China Airlines Pilots on Strike for the First Time, Revealing Shadows of Internecine Fights among Officials

United Daily News Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan)

February 10, 2019

 Translation of an Excerpt

China Airlines pilots launched the first airline pilot strike in the history of civil aviation, causing enormous troubles for many passengers, both outbound and inbound, at the peak of the Chinese New Year’s holiday air travels. On the surface, this is only an internal incident of labor-management dispute of China Airlines, which erupted because the terms for labor could not be settled; however, observing the rumblings and confusion in the course of handling the matter, we, however, could see the traces of incompetence in government management and internecine fights between DPP factions. In particular, the squabbling between the management levels of the Transportation Ministry and China Airlines were staged nakedly, and instead of accusing the pilots of disregarding the rights and interests of passengers, it would be better to condemn the fights, both in the open and hidden, between those in the government in charge of the matter for sitting idly by and letting the incident deteriorate.

On the first day of the strike, the attitudes of China Airlines and the Ministry of Transportation were polarized, both sides respectively posturing to the maximum, not a bit, however, covering up the divergences in their opinions. That same morning, China Airlines press conference was presided over by General Manager Hsieh Shih-chien, speaking a mouth full of officialese; however, we did not see Chairman Ho Nuan-hsuan, who went on the firing line in the China Airlines flight attendant strike three years ago. Deputy Transportation Minister Wang Kwo-tsai, when asked whether the Transportation Ministry “cannot control and move China Airlines,” candidly said that China Airlines internally “indeed takes a relatively hardened position” and “has no patience to handle labor-management relations.” Transportation Minister Lin Chia-lung, however, bluntly stated that the management level of China Airlines should not be mired at the level of "labor-management dispute," it should have "capability of holistic damage control." Transportation Ministry officials even whispered privately, accusing Ho Nuan-hsuan of only accepting the directions of Taoyuan City Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan, never minding the Transportation Ministry. Thus, it elicited even more speculations in the outside world, believing that the internal fight between the “正國會” ("Taiwan Normal Country Promotion Association") and the "New Tide" faction of the DPP led to the breakdown of China Airlines labor-management consultations.

In seeking its own labor rights and interests, as long as labor’s means are legitimate and legal, it should not be criticized. However, airline pilot strikes, after all, affect passengers' rights and interests, and corporate image enormously; government agencies should exert the greatest of efforts in coordination, reducing the conflicts to the minimum. China Airlines has had experiences in handling the flight attendants strike incident of three years ago, and the pilots announced in advance their strike over six months ago; in the end, an agreement could not be effectively reached, showing that the China Airlines management level could not shake its blame.

Let’s recall the negotiations between Chairman Ho Nuan-hsuan and the flight attendants of three years ago; within a day, he immediately made concessions on all the terms presented by the labor union. What is unfathomable is that in handling a similar problem within an interval of three years ago, there were two categorically different faces of softness and hardness. Moreover, when China Airlines flight attendants went on strike three years ago, President Tsai and the Premier both intervened by stating their stances and issued instructions. And this time, Tsai Ing-wen and Su Tseng-chang used all efforts to recuse themselves from the matter, while sitting idly by, letting the public witness the internecine fight between the Transportation Ministry and China Airlines turn into a laughingstock; could they truly feel that the government could be segregated from the incident?

In the first pilot strike incident in the history of civil aviation, surprisingly it was an EVA Air female pilot Lee Hsin-yen who commanded and led the China Airlines pilots to strike; this is a great surprise. What is even more surprising is that the Transportation Ministry could not command nor move the management level of China Airlines it had appointed; both sides had to talk past each other, while leaving the public’s rights and interests, as well as the interests of China Airlines by the wayside. Could such a government be called "connected to the man in the street"?

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