An airline based in Taiwan is facing protests from the public after they requested a sick leave for an employee who had already passed away.
Express reports that on Sep. 24, Ms. Sun, 34, fell ill while on a flight from Milan to Taoyuan, Taiwan. When Ms. Sun first alighted from her flight, she was admitted to Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital where she received treatment up until Oct. 8, when she was referred to China Medical University Hospital. Unfortunately, Ms. Sun did not make it, and shortly after, she was pronounced dead.
According to multiple reports, there were anonymous sources who revealed that EVA Air — the Taiwanese airline — is notorious for forcing their employees to report to work when unwell. One person familiar with the running of the airline said, “This is not some regrettable coincidence, but the result of systemic and long-term indifference to crew members’ health.”
This situation hit fever pitch when EVA Air asked Ms. Sun for sick leave paperwork via text while she was seeking treatment. When that information reached social media, there were widespread protests and calls for a boycott toward the company. Furthermore, the legal authorities in Taiwan have launched an investigation to look into whether EVA Air has internal practices that discourage employees from taking medical leave.
China has long been associated with burnout culture among their younger population. The reputation is seemingly spreading to its neighbors. One of the common terms they have for the phenomenon is “996,” whereby employees often start working at 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. for six days a week. And regardless of the current global trade war, some employees are clearly exhausted and doing what they can to push back.
Working at an airport is notoriously hard enough, so EVA Air had no choice but to take a step back and apologize. “The departure of Ms Sun is the pain in our hearts forever,” EVA Air’s president, Sun Chia-Ming, said in a press conference acknowledging the chaos. Ming assured they will conduct internal investigations about what caused the miscommunication in the first place.
EVA Air assured through another statement that their biggest priority is the health of their employees. But EVA Air has been fined seven times since 2013 for enforcing staff to work overtime. And this situation with Ms. Sun could easily snowball into yet another lawsuit depending on what the investigations that have just been opened about EVA Air reveal.
Still, the company maintains that it has been in constant and fruitful communication with Ms. Sun’s family and they remain deeply saddened by her unexpected passing. Whether this correction works on their customers remains to be seen. But sometimes with companies, it really does depend on how useful it is. For instance, no Jeff Bezos shenanigan has ever been quite able to slow down Amazon.
Ms. Sun has worked for EVA Air since 2016. She’s flown tens of thousands in the sky ensuring flights go smoothly and their clients feel respected. The least the airline could do is show concern about her health.
