Douliu:Yunlin County Workers at AGC Display Glass Taiwan Inc. are set to end their four-day strike on Thursday evening after reaching an agreement with management concerning wage increases for the years 2027 and 2028.
According to Focus Taiwan, the agreement was achieved late Wednesday night after seven hours of negotiations and was approved by union representatives on Thursday morning. The deal includes a monthly base salary increase of NT$1,200 (approximately US$37.58) for employees at the Douliu plant over the next two years. Additionally, management has agreed to further negotiate wage increases for 2029 and 2030.
The strike, which began on Monday at 8 a.m., is scheduled to conclude at 530 p.m. on Thursday. Union chairman Shen Chuan-cheng noted that the agreement also maintains the existing cost-of-living allowances and adjusts salary caps. Importantly, the company agreed not to penalize employees who were involved in the strike.
Chang Shih-chung, head of the Yunlin County Government's Labor Affairs Department, who mediated the dispute, confirmed these details. AGC Deputy General Manager Cheng Wen-yuan stated that the original plan involved discussing wage increases for four years, but it was decided to revisit talks at the end of 2028 due to uncertainties around inflation and minimum wage adjustments.
The strike involved more than 500 union members from the Douliu plant, who were demanding annual pay increases of 5-6 percent, similar to raises received by employees at AGC Inc., the parent company in Japan. The NT$1,200 raise in 2027 is approximately a 4 percent increase for most workers, whose monthly salaries are around NT$30,000.
Union secretary-general Wu Chia-hung mentioned that the Douliu plant employs about 1,400 workers, all of whom are Taiwanese, and the union comprises about 950 members, including some employees from the Tainan plant. The union highlighted that a regular wage adjustment mechanism had not been established for 25 years, despite ongoing requests.
The strike, initially planned for two and a half days, was extended after more than 350 union members signed a petition for its continuation. The union described the settlement as a significant achievement and urged management to prioritize workers' rights and profit-sharing.
The Ministry of Labor welcomed the agreement, praising both the union for its willingness to negotiate and the management for reaching a compromise that balanced business operations with employee rights. This action was the first strike in Yunlin County's history and the second labor strike in Taiwan to conclude this week, following a similar event at Kuai Kuai Co. in Taoyuan.