The China Post
Date: September 16, 2016
By: Sun Hsin Hsuan
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Members of the Taiwan Railway Union (TRU) staged an overnight sit-in at Taipei Main
Members of the Taiwan Railway Union sit in at the Taipei Main Station on Thursday afternoon to call upon the government to act urgently to improve their working conditions. (Photo courtesy of Coolloud Organization)
Station Thursday, in a bid to pressure the government into improving working conditions.
The union, which represents train conductors, station workers and other operational staff, camped out in the station’s central plaza demanding that issues such as employee shortage, unreasonable working schedules, and overwork without pay be addressed.
Around 50 demonstrators wearing masks reading “exhausted” held a press conference on Thursday afternoon before settling down for the night.
Despite the stranding of thousands of passengers around the country following Typhoon Meranti related rail closures, the union insisted the sit in must proceed as planned.
“It is impossible to guarantee safe and smooth journeys for passengers if workers cannot get adequate rest,” TRU Director-General Wang Chieh (王傑) said.
Wang said the TRA and the Transportation and Communications Ministry should propose solid measures for remedying labor shortages, as well as enforce rest days and overtime payments guaranteed by the Labor Standards Act. [FULL STORY]
