EVA Air pilots secure right to strike

TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Pilots for Taiwan's EVA Air, backed by the Pilots Union Taoyuan (TUP), gained the right to strike following a vote on Monday (Jan. 22) amid ongoing disputes over pay raises. 

Pilots are seeking a 20% salary adjustment. According to the TUP, of the 910 pilots who participated in the voting, a whopping 900 approved the strike action, with just 10 voting against it.

The EVA Air pilots' grievances are twofold - firstly, the hiring of foreign pilots amid a staffing shortage, and secondly, what the pilots deem as inadequate salaries and year-end bonuses, especially considering the substantial profits wrested by the airline industry following the pandemic.

EVA Air employs 1,400 pilots, 650 of whom are TUP members.

Without excluding the potential to strike during the Lunar New Year holiday, if all union member pilots opt to strike, half of the passenger and cargo flights would be unable to operate during that period.

In a shift from the 2019 pilot strike at China Airlines, the TUP stated it would announce any strike confirmed for 2024 at least 24 hours in advance to provide passengers with sufficient time to prepare.