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CLA opposes Young Fast¡¦s China plan
VIOLATIONS: Because of various ongoing labor disputes, the council said the
firm should not be allowed to invest in China to protect the Taiwanese workers¡¦
rights
By Shelley Huang
STAFF REPORTER
Monday, Jul 26, 2010, Page 3
The Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) told the Ministry of
Economic Affairs¡¦ Investment Commission that it opposes allowing a leading
touch-panel sensor maker facing a series of labor disputes to make capital
investments in China.
After more than five months, labor disputes have yet to be settled at Young Fast
Optical Inc, which employs more than 700 people. The company has been accused of
labor violations including the mass layoff of domestic workers to replace them
with foreign labor, failure to pay for overtime, insufficient allocation of
labor pension funds and illegally employing students under the age of 16 to work
overtime via education programs.
The Labor Standards Act (³Ò°Ê°ò·Çªk) bars students under the age of 16 who are
participating in cooperative education programs from working more than eight
hours per day. Employers in violation of this are criminally liable and can face
up to six years in prison and be fined up to NT$20,000.
Repeated protests by unions and labor groups prompted the council to investigate
the matter and found that certain allegations against the company were true. The
council¡¦s Bureau of Labor Insurance also recently fined the company for
underinsuring its workers.
The council, which handed the case over to Taoyuan County prosecutors for
further investigation, said that because several allegations are still being
investigated and labor management disputes have not been settled, it opposed
allowing the company to make investments abroad.
When the Investment Commission, which is evaluating whether to approve Young
Fast¡¦s proposal to make a capital investment in China, consulted the council on
the matter, the latter voiced its opposition in an effort to protect employees¡¦
rights at the company, it said.
In related news, the council said it plans to create 45,000 jobs in the public
sector later this year in order to keep unemployment rates under control.
The latest unemployment numbers released by the Directorate General of Budget,
Accounting and Statistics showed a slight increase in the number of unemployed
people last month. Although the increase was expected because of fresh graduates
entering the workforce, the council said it was closely watching job market
indicators to keep the jobless rate under control.
The council said that about 15,000 of the jobs would be temporary positions
aimed at groups that were particularly hard hit by the economic downturn, such
as middle-aged, elderly and handicapped workers. The council plans to create the
temporary, public-sector jobs in September.
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