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CAL makes further concessions

Airline and union close to accord: MOL

CAL makes further concessions

CAL makes further concessions

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – After five hours of negotiations Friday, China Airlines gave in to a demand by the Taoyuan Flight Attendants Union to raise subsidies for overseas work by its members, though it was not yet clear whether that was enough to end an unprecedented strike entering its 22nd hour.
When asked when the strike would end and whether CAL services would return to normal Saturday, officials said they had to refer to both sides in the dispute, the airline and the union, because they were the ones who had to reach the final decision.
CAL later announced the cancellation of three flights for Saturday, between Taoyuan on the one hand and Kaohsiung, Tokyo and Osaka on the other.
The strike started at 0:00 a.m. Friday and caused the cancellation of at least 69 flights out of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Taipei Songshan Airport, affecting about 22,600 passengers.
After new CAL Chairman Ho Nuan-hsuan visited protesting strikers, talks between the two sides began at 4 p.m. under the chairmanship of Labor Minister Kuo Fong-yu.
According to an official statement made around 9 p.m., CAL had agreed to a demand by the union to raise subsidies for overseas work from US$2 to US$5, but only gradually. From July on, union members would receive US$4, while the higher sum would be introduced in May next year.
As promised by Ho earlier, CAL also agreed that flight attendants could report for work at Songshan, as they did until June, when the company unilaterally ordered them to report at Taoyuan, a change which led to a loss of time off for the staff.
Talks were still continuing beyond 9 p.m. Friday to wrap up details, Ministry of Labor officials said.
In the meantime, more strikers and their supporters returned to the street outside the CAL office on Taipei’s Nanjing East Road. During rain in the afternoon, the union leadership had asked most people to return home, with only about 100 staying around.