Taiwan: Migrant workers reportedly pay up to USD6150 to secure low-wage jobs producing goods for multinationals; incl. comments from L'Oreal, Walmart & others
Zusammenfassung
Date Reported: 14 Feb 2023
Standort: Taiwan (Provinz Chinas)
Unternehmen
Walmart - Buyer , Shinkong Synthetic Fibers Corporation - Supplier , Continental AG - Buyer , Niagara Bottling LLC - Buyer , DSM - Former buyer , DuPont - Former buyerBetroffen
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Wanderarbeitnehmer & eingewanderte Arbeitnehmer: ( Number unknown - Vietnam , Plastik )Themen
Wage Theft , Withholding Passports , Restricted mobility , Zwangsarbeit & moderne Sklaverei , Debt Bondage , PersonalbeschaffungsgebührenAntwort
Response sought: Yes, by Journalist
External link to response: (Find out more)
Action taken: SSFC has committed to reimburse migrant workers equivalent to the legal recruitment fee levels in home countries, expected by end of 2023. Continental, DSM, Walmart and Niagara Bottling have said they are investigating the allegations. A later article released in The Diplomat in August 2023 reported workers had been reimbursed but not for the full amount ('around 60% of costs'), going against the zero-recruitment fee policies of some buyers.
Source type: News outlet
Zusammenfassung
Date Reported: 14 Feb 2023
Standort: Taiwan (Provinz Chinas)
Unternehmen
Hwa Hsia Glass - Supplier , L'Oreal - Former buyer , Veritiv - BuyerBetroffen
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Wanderarbeitnehmer & eingewanderte Arbeitnehmer: ( Number unknown - Vietnam , Herstellung: Allgemein )Themen
Withholding Passports , Einschüchterung & Drohungen , Personalbeschaffungsgebühren , Wage TheftAntwort
Response sought: Yes, by Journalist
External link to response: (Find out more)
Action taken: HHG denied many of the allegations. L'Oreal cut ties with the supplier and no longer sources products there, reportedly. Veritiv reportedly would not disclose whether they had audited Taiwanese suppliers.
Source type: News outlet
Zusammenfassung
Date Reported: 14 Feb 2023
Standort: Taiwan (Provinz Chinas)
Unternehmen
Continental AG - Buyer , HELLA GmbH & Co. KGaA - Buyer , Magna - Buyer , Bosch - Buyer , Visteon - Buyer , Chin Poon Industrial - Supplier , General Motors - Buyer , Opel (part of Groupe PSA) - BuyerBetroffen
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Wanderarbeitnehmer & eingewanderte Arbeitnehmer: ( Number unknown - Vietnam , Herstellung: Allgemein )Themen
Wage Theft , PersonalbeschaffungsgebührenAntwort
Response sought: Yes, by Journalist
External link to response: (Find out more)
Action taken: Bosch, Continental and Hella committed to addressing the problems while Magna and Visteon reportedly did not. CPI has reportedly started to reimburse migrant workers for paying fees, with the final amount of what CPI promised to reimburse due in March 2023, and stated that no future recruits would pay fees. In August 2023, The Diplomat published an article following up on the case. It found Chin Poon Industrial had ‘reimbursed workers, but they were not fully repaid - some only were repaid 20% of their recruitment costs, thus going against the zero-recruitment fee policies of many of the companies buying from it.
Source type: News outlet
"Migrant workers squeezed in Taiwan," 14 Feb 2023
For decades, it has been publicly known that migrants working in Taiwan have risked — or endured — forced labour. But public attention to specific Western companies profiting from the exploitation at certain Taiwanese suppliers is rare...
Bosch, Continental, Hella, Magna and Visteon are major suppliers to the global automotive industry and buy directly from the car electronics manufacturer Chin Poon Industrial (CPI), where workers told me of exorbitant fees, punitive fines and more. After a few months of dragging its heels, Bosch committed to addressing the problems. Continental and Hella also promised to approach their supplier. Magna, one of Canada’s biggest companies, and Visteon did not...
Throughout 2022, Vietnamese employees of the huge plastics maker Shinkong Synthetic Fibers Corporation (SSFC) told me about recruitment fees up to €6350, fines, deductions, retention of ID papers, tight curfews and other forced labour risks...
Vietnamese workers shared detailed feedback to me about paying recruiters exceedingly high fees for jobs, having passports confiscated for years, unpaid overtime, fines, threats and more… HHG told me that passports had been returned to workers, denied that overtime is unpaid, said ‘fines are minimal, meant to ensure they follow company policy’ and that ‘ethical recruitment is our policy...’...
Walmart, Niagara, Bosch, Continental, Hella, DSM, Magna, Visteon and Veritiv wouldn’t disclose if they had ever audited their Taiwanese suppliers, despite having sourced from them for up to ten years. Since my mid-2022 reporting, a number of audits have been scheduled.