The Labor affairs bureau subsidizes legal expenses for the employees of SHIAN TZONG INDUSTRIAL LTD., and apply for wage arrears payment fund after assisting the employees in obtaining remuneration.
The media reported that SHIAN TZONG INDUSTRIAL LTD. (hereinafter referred to as SHIAN TZONG company), a well-known steel wire drawing factory in Tainan, was shocked at the end of last year, owed manufacturers and employees 2 billion dollars. In the case of living a luxurious life on the "Hermes Mountain", the chairman of SHIAN TZONG company, O-Xiong Wang, was detained because of fraudulent loan of 750 million dollars. In this case, the Labor Affairs Bureau made every effort to assist workers in safeguarding their equities.
At about 5:00 p.m. on September 16, 2021, the Labor Affairs Bureau received a call from a laborer of SHIAN TZONG company, said that the company bounced the checks, and the whereabouts of the responsible person was unknown, worried about his/her job rights would not be guaranteed. The Labor Affairs Bureau immediately dispatched personnel to the SHIAN TZONG company on the morning of September 17, and convened employees to explain the relevant labor rights and labor creditor's rights related payment procedures.
On October 1, 2021, SHIAN TZONG company owed employees wages and severance pay, and it was suspended due to water failure and interruption of power supply. The Labor Affairs Bureau held a labor rights briefing and discussion on October 7 and November 15, 2021. At the meeting, SHIAN TZONG company did not send any personnel to attend the meeting, nor did they attend the labor dispute mediation meeting held on November 26, 2021. The Labor Affairs Bureau immediately imposed a penalty in accordance with the law and issued an involuntary employment separation certificate and worked with the Bureau of Labor Insurance so that workers can apply for unemployment compensation smoothly. In addition, at the request of the workers, the Labor Affairs Bureau issued the proof document of the fact of closing. On December 17, 2021, the Labor Affairs Bureau completed the determination of the fact that SHIAN TZONG company went out of business, and issued the proof document to the workers. On January 26, 2021, the Labor Affairs Bureau used the labor safety fund to subsidize the workers' first instance attorney's fees of 100,000 dollars and the first instance court costs of 29,849 dollars.
Regarding the failure of SHIAN TZONG company to fulfill its corporate social responsibilities and owed workers the total amount of wages and severance pay exceeding 5 million dollars, the Bureau Affairs Labor issued a letter to the Ministry of Labor on January 20, 2022 to prohibit O-Xiong Wang from going abroad, and the Ministry of Labor sent a letter on January 27, 2022 to request the National Immigration Agency to list him as an object prohibited from going abroad.
As for the other 38 workers’ wages and severance pay, Tainan District Court held four oral arguments court on February 17, March 29, May 3, and June 16, 2022. Twenty-four of them reached a settlement in court on May 3, but there are two workers’ names or the amount of their labor debts in the settlement recorder typoed. After receiving the court's correction and settlement record on June 29, 2022, the Bureau Affairs Labor had instructed labor representatives to write advance documents and relevant supporting materials for unpaid wages and severance pay, and apply to Bureau of Labor Insurance for payment.
The director, Xin-Ji Wang, of the Labor Affairs Bureau stated that defending labor equities is the Labor Affairs Bureau to stand. In the case of SHIAN TZONG company’s arrears of wages and severance pay, in addition to assisting labors who have provided legal requirements and relevant letters, the Labor Affairs Bureau also continued to track the progress of the case. The Labor Affairs Bureau has always stood with the labors to safeguard the equities of labors.