A woman yesterday accused a colleague at Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) of sexual harassment and said that management had dragged their feet on her complaints.
The woman, identified as “Miss A,” told a news conference convened by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Fan Yun (范雲) that she had filed a formal complaint in March last year after instances of sexual harassment by a male colleague.
However, management held an initial meeting at which they decided that “no sexual harassment had taken place,” Miss A said.
Photo: CNA
“While I was at work, this male colleague repeatedly harassed me, verbally, via e-mail or by calling my office phone,” she said.
“He even started to follow me when I finished work,” she said.
As THSRC management would not take any action, she turned to the Taipei Department of Social Welfare, which after reviewing the evidence decided that the events constituted sexual harassment, she said.
Fan criticized THSRC, saying that its initial response to the complaint was unacceptable and that it had altered its rules for assessing such issues.
A second meeting was held at the company in December last year, which reversed the decision of the first meeting, ruling that sexual harassment had taken place, Fan said.
Management then changed its review procedures, requiring a third meeting, she said.
“It has been three years and I had suffered for too long,” Miss A said. “With management dragging its feet and no punitive measures, it seems that I am the one being punished.”
Four separate incidents were reported by other employees over the past three years, but none of them were pursued, with the company claiming there was insufficient evidence, Fan said.
She called on THSRC to hire independent experts and academics to sit on the review panel.
THSRC in a statement said that it “has a zero tolerance policy for sexual harassment.”
“Cases must be handled carefully and investigations conducted thoroughly, with all parties treated fairly,” it said.
There were differences of opinion at the second meeting, so to protect the rights of all parties, independent experts would participate in the third meeting, which is scheduled for next month, it added.
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