Former Sinon Bulls catcher Yeh Chun-chang (葉君璋) should be able to return to the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) if it is determined that he was the victim of unfair labor practices, the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) said yesterday.
Yeh, also the chairman of the professional baseball players’ union, was released by the Sinon Bulls late last year.
The Brother Elephants offered to pick up Yeh, but Elephants manager Hong Jui-ho (洪瑞河) backed down after the Bulls issued a statement asking the three other professional teams not to hire former Bulls players if they were released because of ethical or discipline problems.
As Yeh was not involved in a recent game-fixing scandal, some have speculated that his role in the players’ union may have contributed to his discharge from the Bulls and the Elephants’ rejection. Labor bureaus in the Taipei City Government and Taichung City Government are investigating whether the teams violated labor laws.
Yang Hsi-sen (楊錫昇), deputy director of CLA’s labor relations division, said the Labor Union Act (工會法) states that an employer or his agent shall not dismiss, refuse to employ or otherwise discriminate against a worker based on his participation in a union.
“If it is determined that there is indeed an unfair labor practice, Yeh should be able to return,” Yang said.
He said, however, that the Labor Union Act does not set a penalty for employers that engage in unfair labor practices or refuse to comply with the Act, adding that the council could assist players in filing lawsuits against the employers.
Son Yu-lian (孫友聯), secretary-general of the Taiwan Labor Front, said that under the Employment Service Act (就業服務法), employers can be fined between NT$300,000 and NT$1.5 million (US$47,000) for discriminative employment practices.
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