Pilots’ union mulls strike even with EVA bonuses

• By Shelley Shan / Staff Reporter

The Taoyuan Union of Pilots yesterday said a vote on whether a labor strike is to be organized would still be held even after EVA Airways announced that its employees would receive on average a year-end bonus that is equivalent to six months’ salary and an across-the-board salary raise.

The nation’s second-largest airline yesterday morning announced that it decided to give all employees — ground and flight crew members — a record bonus this year, thanks to a strong recovery of the civil aviation industry after the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that the policy would apply to employees in EVA Airways and its subsidiaries.

Additional bonuses would be available in each company in the middle of next year, depending on this year’s surplus earnings, the airline said.

Photo: CNA

As incentives, ground crew and flight attendants would from next year be given an average raise of NT$5,000, while pilots’ salaries would increase by NT$11,000 to NT$20,000, depending on their positions, the company said.

The announcement came after EVA Air pilots in the union on Friday last week began voting on whether they should organize a labor strike in protest against the company’s alleged unwillingness to increase personnel costs, which they claimed has led to a pilot shortage and frequent aviation accidents. Pilots also said that they do not exclude the possibility of striking during the Lunar New Year holiday without any prior notice.

“The voting process for a labor strike has started, and we would not stop it now. If our members accept what EVA Airways has to offer, it would be reflected in the voting rate,” union researcher Chen Po-chien (陳柏謙) said.

The airline has offered better rewards to its employees than before the vote, but the union would better determine whether pilots actually benefit from the company’s pay raise scheme after getting to know more details, Chen said.

“The dispute has never been about the amount of the year-end bonus. What the union has been focusing on is the overall adjustments of pilots’ salaries and hotel allowances,” Chen said.

Chen also rejected the allegation that pilots could receive a year-end bonus topping NT$1 million. The year-end bonus is calculated based on the base salary given to an employee, and a base salary to a copilot is about NT$45,000, he said.

“Since February last year, we have been hoping to negotiate with EVA Airways over long-term solutions over the distribution of year-end bonus and salaries. However, the airline has never responded positively to our requests,” Chen said. “These matters should all be negotiated first, rather than through a unilateral announcement.”