China Airlines…faced accusations that it is trying to suppress union activities after four employees were suspended from flight duties for a month and told to attend “anger-management courses” as a result of their actions during a demonstration…Labor unions said the suspensions clearly violate employees’ rights to participate in collective bargaining and they vowed to appeal the case to labor authorities. About 1,000 airline employees and their supporters took part in the demonstration outside the company’s office…to protest the size of their year-end bonuses and what they called “sweatshop-like” labor conditions…The four employees…suspended are union representatives from the…China Airlines Employees’ Union, who spoke onstage during…[the] protest...

A China Airlines spokesperson said the four union representatives would be removed from flight duties for at least one month because their behavior at the protest did not reflect the professional conduct expected of flight attendants. The company also said the quartet’s “emotional behavior” showed they needed to attend anger-management courses because their behavior could affect the quality of service provided to passengers or threaten flight securit. The four will continue to receive their monthly salaries and the minimum stipulated 60 hours of flight bonuses, the company said. However…the four could lose between NT$7,000 and NT$10,000 from a month-long suspension…