TRA ISSUES NOTICES OF ABSENCE WITHOUT LEAVE TO UNION MEMBERS|員工春節"依法休假" 台鐵寄曠職通知

The Taiwan Railway Union took their legally allowed leave over the Lunar New Year holiday, but the Taiwan Railways Administration claims that the union members did not seek approval to take leave through the proper channels. Starting yesterday, it has issued notices of absence without leave to the union members. Once the process is complete and an official committee is convened to confirm the notices, the union members may face termination. However, the union continues to assert that it has not broken any laws in taking leave over the holiday. The union has requested arbitration in the court system and says that it could take to the streets again. Nearly 500 TRA employees who belong to the Taiwan Railway Union took four days of legally allowed leave over the Lunar New Year holiday to protest their working conditions. But the TRA now says that the employees were not allowed to take the days off, and that it has issued over 300 notices of absence without leave. Union members could face termination for this offense as soon as 14 days after the notification process is completed. ==CHO YOU-CHANG TRA Acting Personnel Director== The TRA is a public service. There is no unfairness going on here. Everything is in accordance with the rules. If you accumulate 4 days' absence without leave, then you can be terminated based on the Transportation Service Evaluation and Penalty Act. Sources within the TRA say that the union leaders who led the protest will bear the brunt of the penalties. The TRA has responded that, as a public service, it will act in accordance with the law and that both union members and leaders could be terminated for the offense. However, the Union says that an official Ministry of Labor document from last September shows that TRA employees are covered by the Labor Standards Act when it comes to national holidays. They say that TRA workers cannot be forced to work overtime without their consent, and that taking the Lunar New Year off is within the rules. They have appealed to the court system and the Ministry of Labor for a decision. ==HSIAO NUNG-YU Taiwan Railway Union Secretary== We think we've done what we needed to do to notify (the TRA) of what we were doing. It's the TRA that refused to face the situation and listen to us. Now they're saying we were absent without leave, but absence without leave doesn't apply to national holidays (under the Labor Standards Act). The union emphasizes that, based on the Ministry of Labor's interpretation, there is no basis for punishing employees for taking the Lunar New Year off. The purpose of this action was not to inconvenience the public, but to bring the issues of overwork and understaffing in the TRA to the government's attention. The union accuses the TRA of trying to shift the conversation using illegal reasoning. The union also says that, if the Executive Yuan and TRA continue to ignore their calls for better rights, they will demonstrate in front of the Presidential Office on February 9th. TRANSLATED BY：CLARE LEAR 台鐵產業工會在春節期間「依法休假」，台鐵認為，員工沒有依照合法程序請假，昨天起已經寄發曠職通知單，等走完告知程序，開完人評會後，情節嚴重者，最重將處以四天曠職、記兩大過免職。但台鐵產業工會則持續主張春節休假無不法，已向法院申請仲裁，並表示將再度走上街頭。 台鐵產業工會近500多名員工，抗議過勞問題，在春節連續四天「合法休假」。不過台鐵局認為，員工沒有依照合法程序請假，春節過後已經寄發300多張曠職單！最重將處四天曠職兩大過免職。台鐵表示走完通知程序，14天後就會汰除。 ==台鐵人事室代理主任 卓有章== 台鐵局是公務行政機關 他絕對不會有針對性 一切我們是按照規定 你只要曠職4天 一定是按照規定予以曠職 按照交通事業考懲條例 一次記兩大過免職 台鐵內部傳出，懲處主要針對帶頭抗議的產業工會幹部，對此，台鐵回應，公部門絕對依法行政，若有不法、無論是會員或幹部都將會依法免職。但工會批評，依照勞動部105年9月份公文，就表示台鐵員工在國定假日適用勞基法，出勤加班需經勞工同意，春節休假絕無不法，已經向法院與勞動部提出不當勞動行為裁決。 ==台鐵產業工會秘書 蕭農瑀== 我們認為說我們事先 已經做到告知的動作 其實是台鐵局自己不願去面對 然後也不願去聽我們的訴求 現在又反過來控說是我們曠職 其實(勞基法)國定假日 就是本來就沒有曠職的問題 工會強調，根據勞動部的說明，"依法休假"絕對沒有問題。春節休假不是要影響民眾權益，目的最主要是要讓政府，重視台鐵員工過勞與人力不足問題，不過台鐵現在卻用違法理由的模糊焦點，並表示，如果行政院和台鐵都無視之前的法規，漠視員工權益，他們將在2月9號走上凱道，自己來向總統蔡英文爭取該有的權益。 記者李志華 彭耀祖 台北報導