Taiwan
Thai Workers to Countersue Huapan
Employees Claim Taiwanese Company Treated them like Slave Labor
Five of the 14 Thai workers who have been sued for damages incurred in last August's violent protest in Kaohsiung last August announced plans yesterday to file a countersuit against Huapan Manpower Consulting.
The Taiwan International Workers' Association disclosed on Saturday that Huapan was demanding NT$19.67 million in damages from the workers, who burned down Huapan offices in August to protest against the inhumane conditions they faced in working on the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit project.
KMT Legislator Joanna Lei said each worker only receives a salary of about NT$15,000 a month, meaning it would take the 14 workers over 11 years to reimburse the amount if they didn't eat or drink, and questioned the motive of the company in filing suit since it was likely to recoup the losses.
She also said it was absurd that the company that caused the riot was asking the real victims for compensation.
Association Secretary-General Ku Yu-ling argued the expenses Huapan was citing were inflated or simply inconsequential.
Questionable claim
Ku said, for example, that the building burned down during the protest was a sheet-steel structure that most likely was not worth the NT$5 million Huapan wanted for it.
In addition to the desks, chairs and inventory of goods sold in the workers' dormitory destroyed during the protest, the company was even asking for compensation for a coffee pot, Ku said, in the suit that was filed on February 20.
Lei, five of the 14 Thai workers and some pro-labor organizations held a press conference yesterday to announce the countersuit.
Judicial Reform Foundation Executive Director Kao Yung-cheng said his foundation would help the workers file the suit against Huapan at the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors' Office.
The countersuit will accuse Huapan of treating the workers as slaves.
One worker, Chiao Tasi, said Huapan had pledged not to seek compensation and he was therefore surprised that they had filed the suit.
Another worker, Lao Peng, said while fighting tears, "I am so worried about the lawsuit (against me) now that I cannot sleep every day."
Beginning of it all
Last August, more than 100 Thai workers employed by Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Crop rioted in protest against ill treatment. They complained of poor working and living conditions in a cramped dormitory. Huapan was the company responsible for managing them at that time.
Former Council of Labor Affairs ( 勞委會 ) Chief Chen Chu ( 陳菊 ) resigned over the incident.
According to Legislator Lei, Tsai Meng-liang, the section chief of the CLA's foreign labor department attributed the riot to Huapan's poor management.
"However, Huapan was only fined NT$1.5 million for the riot but is asking the workers for NT$19.67 million," Lei said.
Shu Shang, 40, originally a farmer in Thailand, said he was treated badly by the company. He said Huapan gave the workers tokens instead of cash to force them to spend their earnings in the dormitory commissary on goods often sold at inflated prices.
If they wanted to make a phone call, they had to buy telephone cards there and each card was NT$160, more expensive than those sold in the market, Shu Shang said.
The five workers said their freedom to go shopping outside the dormitory was restricted. They were not allowed to use cell phones and were even watched while eating.
"If we were these Thai workers, how we would feel when suffering Huapan's inhumane treatment?" asked Legislator Lei.
Lao Peng echoed a similar sentiment.
"I am not a child anymore; I am 50 years old. I do not know what I did wrong. Why has Huapan sued me? If you were me, what would you do?"
Chiao Tasi said that he borrowed money to come to Taiwan and his family needs his financial support. They are also worried about the lawsuit against him.
"I really do not know what I should do now," Chiao Tasi said.
Lai said that U.S. 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices released by the U.S. Department of State
Thai workers announce plan to contersue broker Huapan
reported that the ill treatment the workers suffered as well as unreasonable broker fees were the main causes of the riot.
Ku agreed and called for the resignation of Kaohsiung City Government Labor Bureau Chung Kung-choa because he was ignoring the workers' interests and rights in saying that Huapan had the right to sue the workers for compensation.
Chung promised that his bureau would try its best to assist the workers and provide help in paying for their legal expenses.
The Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp. yesterday also stressed that the workers' right to work would be protected.
KRTC said it will maintain contact with the Kaohsiung City Government to provide help for the workers if necessary.
According to the KRTC, the Thailand Trade and Economic Office also said that it would assist the workers.
The rapid transit company said it terminated its contract with Huapan last September and the workers' living conditions have improved considerably since then.
Even though four workers were prosecuted for the riot, the company still respects their right to work, officials said.
Council of Labor Affairs official Tsai Meng-liang also said that he could not understand how Huapan, which was punished for the riot, could ask the workers for compensation. The Council stressed that the company's poor management had not only caused the riot but also damaged the country's image.
Tsai stressed that the CLA would also provide assistance to the workers if necessary.
Huapan has refused to respond or comment.
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