13 OFWs win case vs Taiwanese firm

The 13 overseas Filipino workers in Taiwan who filed a case of human trafficking against a Taiwanese company and its broker scored a legal victory after majority of their demands were granted, according to a migrants’ rights group. Through negotiations facilitated by Taiwan’s Bureau of Labor Affairs (BLA) on Tuesday, the 13 OFWs were able to pressure their employer, AV Tech, to give in to 10 of their 12 demands, including returning the employees’ passports and updating their pay slips, which were delayed by two to three months, Migrante Taiwan said. Other demands by the Filipino workers that were granted include:

• return of their savings, after the employer implemented a deduction of forced savings worth NT$3,000 (about P4,180) per month
• refund of illegal deduction
• refund of their overtime pay
• payment for their salary for September, after the employer terminated the workers’ contract
• removal of the video monitor in the workers’ living room and bedroom
• an end to the verbal abuse by the employer
• inspection of their dormitory, which the workers said are unlivable
• removal from their workplace of the coordinator, whom they accused of often verbally abusing and threatening them.

Migrante, which assisted the workers in the negotiations, said the results of the labor dispute mark a victory for OFWs struggling for their rights in Taiwan. “This victory on the part of OFWs further exposes the bad living and working conditions that many migrant workers experience in Taiwan," said Dave Chang, chairperson of Migrante Taiwan. Two Migrante officials and a representative of the New Immigrants Labor Rights Association assisted the workers in their case, according to Chang. Earlier, Migrante scored the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO), the Philippines’ representative office in Taiwan, for failing to give temporary shelter to the OFWs while the case was pending. (See: Migrante criticizes MECO on plight of 13 OFWs) A MECO staff member reportedly told the workers that there was “no space" to house them, according to Migrante. The MECO is currently in hot water after Senate hearings revealed that the office’s board members have been receiving excessive retirement benefits and salaries as high as P150,000 per month, and have failed to remit dividends to the government. (See: MECO admits to excessive pay, non-remittance of funds) —Jerrie M. Abella/JV, GMANews.TV