EVA Air flight attendants protesting against management Tuesday June 4 (By Central News Agency)
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Enough EVA Air flight attendants have cast their ballots in the vote about a strike to pass the required threshold, the Taoyuan Flight Attendants Union said Thursday (June 6), even though the final results will not be announced until Friday (June 7).
The airline staff have demanded a management response to complaints about overtime, long working hours and pay, but two rounds of negotiations last month failed to provide the required results, according to the union.
Voting started on May 13 and was scheduled to end at 6 p.m. Thursday, with the actual ballot counting to start at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, the day of the Dragon Boat Festival.
According to the union, more than 3,000 of its members at EVA, or 90 percent, and more than 1,000 of its members at rival China Airlines showed up to vote.
The union set up minimum thresholds of 2,967 votes of all its members in favor of a strike and 2,621 or 80 percent of its EVA members supporting a strike for the result to be valid, the Central News Agency reported.
The airline reportedly demanded to be allowed to verify the vote-counting process, but failed to respond to offers for more talks, the union said, emphasizing the whole procedure would be recorded on video, with legal staff and representatives of the Taoyuan City Government present.
