Taiwan: Garmin's fire-and-rehire of pregnant Vietnamese worker reflects wider protections gap for migrants, say civil society groups
In April 2023, Vietnamese factory worker Bui Thi Nhung’s employment at Garmin’s Xizhi factory in New Taipei was reportedly terminated when management discovered she was pregnant. Garmin approached her with resignation papers but offered no translation for the documents, nor was she informed of her labor rights. Therefore, she said she felt she had no choice but to resign.
After the incident, civil society groups held a press conference to call attention to how Garmin had violated not only Taiwanese labor laws, but standards that it should adhere to as a member of the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) - the world’s largest coalition organisation for corporate social responsibility in supply chains.
In May 2023, Garmin decided to reemploy her. However, concerns were raised at the press conference that protections for migrant workers are lacking in Taiwan and this reportedly proves far from the first time that migrant workers have faced dismissal after becoming pregnant.