Unions and labor rights activists yesterday staged a protest outside the Shanghai Commercial & Savings Bank (SCSB, 上海商業儲蓄銀行) headquarters in Taipei, accusing the bank of repressing union members, and urging it to allow a fired former union member to return to work.
Members from several bank unions and the Taiwan Labor Front (TLF) yesterday also voiced their support for former senior SCSB employee and union leader Cheng Chun-chih (陳軍智), who was twice dismissed by the bank.
Their protest came in following several readjustments in the bank’s position on labor disputes, which the Taipei City Department of Labor confirmed as employment discrimination and the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) confirmed as repression of union activities.
“Since the founding of the SCSB Union in 2010, the company’s management has repeatedly harassed union members — including Chen — through one-on-one talks with union members and job readjustments,” TLF representative Chang Feng-yi (張烽益) said during the protest.
The Taipei City Department of Labor previously imposed a fine of NT$1 million (US$33,800) on the bank for its discriminatory actions regarding Chen and other union members.
However, the bank still fired Chen last year and would not let him return to work despite a CLA ruling that confirmed the bank’s moves as repression of union activities.
“The ban is simply ruthless,” Chen said.
“One of the problems with labor laws is that the most severe penalty a company that represses union activities can get is a fine, but they don’t care about these fines, and sometimes even pay the fine from the budget that has been designated to be used for employee welfare,” he added.
In a written statement, SCSB denied that Chen was fired as a result of his union activities., adding that was he dismissed because of excessive absence from work.
As to Chen’s request to return to work, the bank said that his case is now being reviewed by the court, and the bank will decide whether to allow him to return to work based on the court ruling.
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
Taiwan’s food delivery market could undergo a major shift if Singapore-based Grab Holdings Ltd completes its planned acquisition of Delivery Hero SE’s Foodpanda business in Taiwan, industry experts said. Grab on Monday last week announced it would acquire Foodpanda’s Taiwan operations for US$600 million. The deal is expected to be finalized in the second half of this year, with Grab aiming to complete user migration to its platform by the first half of next year. A duopoly between Uber Eats and Foodpanda dominates Taiwan’s delivery market, a structure that has remained intact since the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) blocked Uber Technologies Inc’s
RSS