(quoted from goodelectronics.org & Sacom.hk)
In a fierce statement, the Taiwan Labor Information & Education
Association (TLIEA) reports on protests of WINTEK workers regarding
poor working conditions and failing communication with the WINTEK
management, supplier to well known brands including Nokia, Apple and
HTC.
If you are holding an iPhone or an HTC in your hand, you might
have contributed to the ordeals of nearly 8,000 factory workers in
China and Taiwan.
WINTEK Corporation
(負責人黃顯雄，Headquarter: No.10, Jianguo Rd., Export processing district.
Taichung County) was established in 1990. Its majors products include
flat monitors such as LCD, LCM and touch panels, occupying the largest
market share of touch panels and small-sized mobile phone panels,
ranking among top 3 worldwide. WINTEK allocates 12 of its manufacture
lines in Taoyuan, Taichung and Kaohsiung, employing as many as 3,550
workers; for its two factories in Dongguan and Soochow, China, 18,150
workers are employed, while its Chennai factory employs 1,450 workers.
It spreads its worldwide sales network across the US, Korea and
Germany. WINTEK’s major clients include Apple (iPhone), Nokia and HTC.As the financial crisis strikes
home, many employees reported exploited or laid off unjustified by
WINTEK, therefore we seek worldwide support for labours in Taiwan and
China. We make appeals to labour workers in every nation to unite as
one, and to sign the petition condemning the WINTEK for mass
exploitation of labours! We make appeals to the governments in China,
Taiwan, India and Korea, to examine the working condition at WINTEK! We
also appeal that acclaimed brands such as Apple (iPhone), Nokia and HTC
would follow the international Supplier Code of Conduct and demand
WINTEK to refrain from exploitation!
Case 1: Unexpectedly laying off more than 600 factory workers in Taiwan
Since November 2008, WINTEK had
cut salaries and stopped offering benefits, and resorted to forcing
unpaid leaves on employees. Within two weeks, more than 600 employees
were laid off unexpectedly; the number can rise to near 1000 if
contract and migrant workers are to be counted. WINTEK did not file a
report to the government or embark on a negotiation process with its
employees 60 days beforehand. Pregnant women and veteran workers were
among those who got laid-off; this was an ostensibly discriminative
action. After protest, the would-be mothers went back to work, but the
others are still fighting their jobs back.
The company claimed that this
measure was taken because the orders dropped during November 2008, and
that it was experiencing a bad loss. However, according to the
financial papers, WINTEK still has a surplus of four billion TWD.
(approx. $118 million USD) Taiwanese press also reported that WINTEK
had received urgent orders, thus needed to hire a good number of new
workers. This has proved the company failed to do what it could to
prevent mass lay-offs.
For those who appeared lucky to
keep their jobs, their pay was cut, (no awards and no subsidies for
early shifts) their overtime became unpaid, and the night shifts were
asked to work longer hours. The workers would have to work nonstop in
order to make enough to survive. Moreover, the company has filed a
lawsuit of defamation against, Wei-li Chu, chairperson of National
Federation of Independent Trade Unions, who has been assisting the
unemployed workers..
Case 2：7,000 workers went on strike for pay cuts and unpaid overtime labour
Dongguan_Masstop in Donguan, a subsidiary of WINTEK, saw more than 7,000 broke in outrage when the workers went on strike last Friday.
The strike was the result of
third-rate food offered in the factories, and that the overtime pay and
subsidies were held back. According to Chinese labour laws, those who
work overtime should be paid twice of their normal wages; which means
if they get less than that, the company is breaching the laws. However,
Dongguan_Masstop demanded in February the
workers to sign an agreement indicating their acceptance of an overtime
wage of only 1.5 times of the normal wage. Meanwhile, the company told
the workforce that this agreement was approved by the labour
administration, which later proved to be a lie.
Albeit the recession, the
company’s manufacture lines were working around the clock, while
overtime wages and subsidies were being deducted.
The company offered to pay twice
the normal wage for overtime, and demanded the workers to get back to
work. Because the issues with food and subsidies were left unresolved,
19 of them continued the strike and were eventually laid off.
WINTEK violations of the Apple Supplier Code of Conduct
- WINTEK has
violated the code concerning overtime wages: “workers must be
compensated for overtime hours at the premium rate required by
applicable laws and regulations.”
Underpaid overtime wages：WINTEK forced its Taiwanese employees to give up their overtime pay and holiday subsidies, opting for more days off instead. Dongguan_Masstop , WINTEK’s subsidiary in Dongguan, claimed on February 26th
that the labour administration on Dongguan has approved that its 25%
cut in holiday overtime wages. In fact, the administration has never
approved such change.
- WINTEK has violated the code concerning fair treatment to employees according to applicable laws and regulations.
Illegally laying off workers：Dongguan_Masstop ,
WINTEK’s subsidiary in Dongguan faced strike because of working
condition issues. Though the company agreed to adhere to labour laws
and pay overtime wages twice as much as the normal ones, the company
made a conditional offer, stating that all workers should be back at
work before three in the afternoon. 19 of the workers were laid off
because they continued the strike. The fact is, the company agreed to
pay the overtime wages only a few days later. According to Chinese
labour laws, workers have the rights not to work before they get paid.
The company breached the laws by laying them off.
- WINTEK
has violated the code concerning dormitory and dining: “Suppliers must
provide workers with clean toilet facilities, access to potable water,
and sanitary food.”
Food problems: Dongguan_Masstop ,
WINTEK’s subsidiary in Dongguan, has cut the expenses for daily meals
from 8 RMB to 4.5 RMB. Some say the food is a far cry from
satisfactory. This issue directly resulted to the strike, but the
company has not solved it yet.
GLOBAL SIGNATURE CAMPAIGN
http://campaign.tw-npo.org/campaign//////////sign.php?id=2009042210484600
TAIWAN:
National Federation of Independent Trade Unions, WINTEK bargaining
team, Solidarity Union, Youth Labor Union 95, Taiwan Labor Information, Education Association & Taiwancorpwatch
HONG KONG: Pioneer, Globalization Monitor, Students & Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior (SACOM)
