Taiwan’s top transportation official said Wednesday he would try to get more holiday flexibility for the passenger transportation industry as a new legislation forbids working more than six days in a row effective from August 1 would leave the industry shorthanded.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Hochen Tan said he would communicate with the Ministry of Labor (MOL), which regulates the country’s workforce, to plead for more holiday flexibility for the transportation industry.
Chen told reporters that he would make sure that the MOL knows that the passenger transportation industry needs more holiday flexibility as the industry has to provide more service on weekends, which is different from the common holiday practice.
However, the minister said he hoped the industry would consider hiring more drivers to maintain the service level under the current circumstances.
In the face of Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) train drivers’ threat to stage a strike in September, Chen said that for a long time the train drivers have been underpaid and their working environment have not been good, but the underlying problem is being understaffed.
Train drivers said if the TRA did not cut 200 train services in August, they would take leave en masse in September.
The threat could make the government and the public worried as the long Mid-Autumn Festival holiday falls in September, and the public transportation during the period is among the busiest in a year.
The Executive Yuan has expressed goodwill to replenish TRA’s manpower and improve the salaries according to TRA’s opinions, he said, adding that he hoped the TRA would make good communication with its employees and put public transportation first in their consideration.