A troubled Taiwanese shipbuilding company that has failed to pay its workers, many of them Filipinos, for two months was warned of further legal actions by the Kaohsiung City Government after a company representative failed to show up for the third conciliation meeting held by the city’s Labor Affairs Bureau.
No one from Ching Fu Shipbuilding Company attended the meeting on Wednesday, and 115 workers who have yet to receive their salaries for October and November remain vulnerable, said Cheng Su-ling, chief of the Labor Affairs Bureau, Taiwan Times reported.
According to the bureau, the company was fined NT$300,000 (US$10,000) for failing to pay its workers in August and September. In October, it was fined another NT$600,000, and another fine of NT$1 million was issued on Thursday for delaying November payments.
A total of 45 Filipino workers had been working for Ching Fu. During the past few months, with the assistance of the bureau, four have switched jobs, seven returned to the Philippines and four have new jobs pending.
The 30 Filipinos who stayed at Ching Fu were unpaid as the company had formerly entered contracts with buyers that full payments would be received after delivery of the ships.
The bureau says it is continuing to follow up the disputes between Ching Fu and its workers, and has also urged employment agencies to assist affected Filipino workers who experience financial difficulties.