Taiwan’s government wants to turn the state railway into a public corporation. And despite a recent strike by train drivers, Taiwan’s transport minister says unions and the government broadly agree on how to do it.
Minister Wang Kwo-tsai says the rail operator will meet with labor union representatives tomorrow to discuss the plans. Wang says he will keep working to reach an agreement.
Taiwan’s railway drivers organized a mass strike on Sunday to protest the government’s plans to corporatize the railways. The Taiwan Railway Labor Union says workers were not properly consulted about future changes to the railways. It also says it is worried that the government will cut workers’ benefits to help repay the railways’ US$15 billion debts.
Taiwan’s transport minister says it’s inevitable that some workers will lose out. But he says the unions and the government have the same aim, which is to make Taiwan’s railways function better than ever.