The Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) has determined that Chunghwa Telecom violated the Labor Standards Law (勞基法) by unilaterally extending employees' working hours without first securing the approval of its labor union.
CLA Deputy Minister Kuo Fong-yu (
Although the company claimed it had informed the labor union about the decision, it was never approved by the union, he said.
The council also found that the company did not compensate its employees for working overtime, nor did it reward employees with perfect attendance records.
Chunghwa Telecom labor union representatives at the meeting also presented a booklet detailing alleged illegal labor practices by the company, with several cases in court.
One of the major cases involved a Kaohsiung court ruling which found in favor of a Chunghwa Telecom employee, who accused the company of forcing employees to accept positions at far-away locations or accept early retirement. The court ordered Chunghwa Telecom to pay NT$160,000 as compensation to the employee in March last year.
The telecom company's illegal labor practices faced harsh criticism at the legislative meeting yesterday.
"Chunghwa Telecom has posted huge annual profits, but what they did has set a bad example to the public," Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wang Yu-ting (
Another KMT legislator, Ho Tsai-feng (侯彩鳳), asked if members of the company's board representing the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) had exercised their authority and monitored the company's operations.
Chunghwa Telecom has 15 board directors, of which 11 are MOTC representatives.
In response, MOTC Deputy Minister Ho Nuan-hsuen (
Ho added that Chunghwa's management and labor representatives will hold another round of negotiations today.
The ministry will then issue a response based on the results of the negotiations, he said.
Chunghwa Telecom has conducted negotiations with the labor union twice. While the company insisted it had followed the Labor Standards Law when it adjusted the working hours, the union said the company had broken the contract between labor and management with the action.
Despite the raging controversy, Ho said it was still too early to determine whether Chunghwa chairman Hochen Tan (賀陳旦) should be replaced at the shareholders' meeting next month.
KMT Legislator Lwo Shih-hsiung (羅世雄) said Hochen was suspected of share price manipulation related to the company's purchase of shares of MiTAC Inc late last year.
Lwo pointed out that MiTAC's share price jumped from NT$21.2 on Nov. 9 to NT$25.8 two weeks later as market speculation of a potential major shareholding purchase by Chunghwa Telecom grew.
Ho confirmed that Chunghwa Telecom had tried to submit a major proposal for investment twice, but that it was rejected on both occasions by the ministry on the ground that the proposal should have been submitted at least seven days in advance.
The proposal was finally approved by Chunghwa Telecom's shareholders on Dec. 26 and MiTAC's share price surged further to NT$29.6.
Ho said he has ordered the Department of Posts and Telecommunications to investigate the matter.
"When necessary, Hochen might be asked to provide further explanations," he said.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators
RSS