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CAL staff hold stand-up protest

CAL staff hold stand-up protest

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Three employees of China Air Lines held a 12-hour stand-up protest outside the company’s Taipei offices Tuesday to complain about working conditions.
Airline staff have threatened to stay away from work at the beginning of the June 9-12 Dragon Boat Festival holiday, likely to create unprecedented problems for travelers.
The three protesters, one woman and two men, reportedly arrived at the CAL building at 4 a.m. on Tuesday to take up their post. They said their action symbolized the fact that many CAL staff sometimes had to remain standing for 10 hours on end while working.
They held up placards telling passersby that staff on some flights to the Chinese city of Changchun had to work 11 hours and 40 minutes, colleagues on flights to the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh 11 hours and 10 minutes, and to Bangkok 11 hours and 55 minutes.
Supporters among staff repeatedly offered bottles of water and fruit juice during the morning, reports said.
During the afternoon, about 500 union members and supporters gathered outside the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in a more traditional protest against the airline.
The dispute between CAL and its staff is based on a demand that employees reporting for work can no longer do so at Taipei Songshan Airport beginning June 1, but have to travel to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, with the travel time not included in their working hours. Attempts by the Taoyuan City labor authorities to mediate failed to find any solution to the dispute.
CAL said Tuesday it was not cutting any times for rest even after the introduction of the new changes, and the times were still far more than the minimum required by the authorities. If crews worked for fewer than 12 hours, they received 12 hours rest, if they worked longer, then they would be allowed to rest for 24 hours, or more than double the minimum nine hours required by law, according to CAL.