Over 10 Pinoy workers in Taiwan accuse employer of abuse

Published May 8, 2012 6:00pm

Over 10 Filipino workers of a glass company in Taiwan accused their employer of abusing them and forcing them to work in harsh conditions at the company’s factory in Taoyuan County, a report of Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA) said. The Filipino workers of Taiwan Glass Industry Corp. said they were forced to work for 12 hours a day in temperatures of up to 60 degrees Celsius, the CNA report said on Monday.

The workers also claimed that their shifts were changed frequently, as often as 12 times a month. They also alleged that NT$4,000 (P5,750) was deducted from the monthly pay for accommodation and means although they felt they were constantly underfed.

They said they were not given hot showers during the winter in their dormitories and did not have air-conditioning in the summer.

The Filipino workers also accused the company of keeping their passports, not paying them extra for working overtime, and not giving them pay slips with information in their own language.

Representatives of the Taiwan International Workers Association were quoted in the CNA report as saying a Filipino worker named Michael was found dead in a company dormitory April 16.

He died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. A preliminary investigation by the Taipei District Prosecutors Office ruled out overwork, it said.

Company denies claims

Meanwhile, Taiwan Glass Industry Corp. denied some of the claims, saying that while there was room for improvement in its working conditions, it could not accept some of the accusations.

Among the charges it felt were “exaggerated” were claims by the workers that they were underfed, did not have access to hot showers in the winter or air-conditioning in the summer and were forced to work in temperatures reaching as high as 60 degrees Celsius.

The company emphasized hot showers and air-conditioning in employee dormitories are available and workers are given three meals a day.

It also said that while some parts of its production facility are exposed to high temperatures, those areas are equipped with air conditioning to keep the heat down.

As to claims that a Filipino worker named Michael might have died due to the harsh environment, it said its initial findings were not consistent with that claim.

The company said it contacted the Council of Labor Affairs and the local police station after Michael was found unconscious in his dorm room on April 16.

The company said in a statement that since it was established 47 years ago and started hiring foreign workers in 1993, the company has treated all employees properly and equally.

Deeper probe

Lin Shih-teng, a section chief at the Bureau of Employment and Vocational Training under the Council of Labor Affairs, said inspectors from the county’s Labor and Human Resources Bureau conduct regular inspections at the factory every three months.

She said the last inspection on March 8 was favorable, but vowed to inquire more deeply into the matter following the complaints made by the workers.

Also, she said she will ask the company to make hot showers available to employees, and to provide pay slips with explanations written in the workers’ native languages.

The CNA report quoted her as saying that if improvements are not made within a given time, the company will be fined up to NT$300,000 and have its foreign worker quota reduced. - JLA/VVP, GMA News

Tags: ofws, taiwan