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.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS