Inspectors from regional labor departments are keeping a close eye on the terms that Ting Hsin International Group (頂新集團) is offering to its employees, Ministry of Labor officials said, following the shutdown of multiple factories owned by the company, currently embroiled in a series of food safety scandals.
Ting Hsin Group on Friday announced the closure of two of its subsidiaries, Ting Hsin Oil & Fat Industrial Co (頂新製油實業) and Cheng I Food Co (正義股份). The former has ceased operations for two manufacturing plants in Changhua and Pingtung counties, with 42 and 35 employees respectively, while the latter has shut down a plant with more than 100 employees in Greater Kaohsiung.
Department of Labor Relations section chief Lo Chung-cheng (羅忠政) said that inspectors from local labor departments have already set out to monitor the shutdowns yesterday.
“Even when the plants have ceased operations, a lot of work remains to be done, such as the disposal or recycling of materials,” Lo said, adding that he does not expect to see immediate large-scale layoffs.
According to a report in the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times sister paper), labor department officials in Kaohsiung said Ting Hsin should be “financially capable” of transferring workers to other subsidiaries owned by the group, or handing out severance packages as stipulated by the law.
Chang Guan Group (強冠集團), another company troubled by food safety scandals last month, was given a NT$100,000 fine for the laying off of more than 100 of its employees at its Kaohsiung manufacturing plant without notice.
According to the Act on the Protection Against Mass Dismissal of Employees (大量解雇勞工保護法) a business entity with 200 to 500 workers must give at least 60 days’ notice if it plans to lay off more than 25 percent of its employees over a three-month period, or sack more than 50 workers in one day.
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