Retired Railway Employee Called In for Help 平交道故障大誤點 台鐵急尋老師傅「救火」

Taiwan Railway services were disrupted over the Mid-Autumn Festival long weekend by a malfunctioning signaling system. It had to turn ask a retired employee to come in and resolve the issue. The Taiwan Railway Union says Taiwan Railway is facing a talent outflow due to the upcoming corporatization and it should find ways to retain talents.

Taiwan Railway services were disrupted over the Mid-Autumn Festival long weekend by a malfunctioning signaling system at Yuanlin Station, and workers were sent to direct traffic at level crossings. It took three days to resume normal services, during which train services were delayed. The Taiwan Railway Union says the enterprise lacks resources and personnel. For example, during this most recent incident, it had to call in a retired employee to resolve the issue. 

Hsu Chung-neng, Taiwan Railway Employee: “For this malfunction, we had to ask a retired employee to come in. This shows that we're already incapable of resolving issues right there at the scene. For those unseen problems, the situation is that we're hanging by a thread and everything is about to collapse.”

The union said the Executive Yuan is pushing for the corporatization of Taiwan Railway to resolve its issues. However, it has ignored the issue of talents, which is a big crisis. Current employees may choose to retire or resign before the corporatization occurs, leaving Taiwan Railway understaffed. During a recent meeting between labor and management, the latter only offered a salary increase of NT$2,000 to retain talents.

Feng Hui-sheng, Deputy Director General, Taiwan Railway: “Retaining talents will increase Taiwan Railway's efficiency, quality, and safety after it is corporatized. Everyone agrees that this is the path to follow.”

Taiwan Railway said it continues to negotiate with the union and both sides value talent retention. However, they haven't yet reached a consensus on the details. The corporatization timetable has not been changed and discussions will continue as scheduled.

平交道故障，只能以人員指揮來運行，台鐵中秋連續假期，因員林站號誌故障，搶修3天才恢復，造成列車連續3天嚴重誤點，台鐵產業工會痛批，目前台鐵第一線缺料又缺人，以這次中秋搶修過程為例，還是找退休電務人員回來協助才解決問題。

台鐵員工徐仲能指出：「這次故障也是找老師傅，退休的回來，表示現場已經沒辦法處理這些問題，表面上運行看不到的問題，實際上就是在硬撐，幾乎就是要崩潰了。」

產業工會分析，目前行政院以公司化來解決台鐵問題，卻忽略人才技術斷層是台鐵眼前的重大危機，若在公司化前夕，員工選擇提前退休或是離職，必定加速人力青黃不接窘境，但日前，台鐵勞資協商會議中，資方提出留才方案，僅有加薪2千，毫無吸引力。

台鐵副局長馮輝昇表示：「人才能夠留下來，讓台鐵未來轉型改革公司化以後，相關的工作效率、品質及安全都能夠更加提升，這個方向是大家都一致的。」

台鐵強調，和企業工會持續協商，雙方都很重視人才留用，只是方案細節還未有共識，最新方案還不便對外透露，目前台鐵公司化期程不變，會依照程序持續討論。