An investigation is to be launched into allegations Books.com.tw duped an illiterate cleaner who spent 20 years with the company into signing away statutory employee benefits, Taiwan's Ministry of Labor (MOL) said Saturday.
On Friday, attorney Chen Yu-hsin (???) posted on social media about the cleaner, who had only realized she had been a contractor rather than an employee after Books.com.tw told her it would be terminating its contract with her.
According to Chen, Books.com.tw required the cleaner to strictly follow rules for employees regarding clocking in and out, working hours, and which areas of the retailer's Taipei-based office she needed to clean.
Books.com.tw's treatment of the cleaner made her an employee of the company, entitling her to such statutory benefits as health care coverage, labor insurance coverage, a pension and a severance package as required by the Labor Standards Act, Chen said.
Chen said Books.com.tw took advantage of the cleaner's illiteracy to trick her into signing away her statutory benefits by hiring her as a contractor rather than an employee.
Wang Hou-wei (???), head of the MOL's Department of Employment Relations, told CNA Saturday the ministry had demanded that the Department of Labor of the Taipei City government look into the allegations.
If it is proven that the company was in an employer-employee relationship with the cleaner, it will have to redress any violation of its obligations as an employer stipulated under the Labor Standards Act, including providing severance payment and retiring pension, according to Yeh Ssu-yen (???), chief of labor standards division of Taipei's Department of Labor.
Meanwhile, Books.com.tw's owner, President Chain Store Corp., said Saturday that it had removed Chiang Cheng-hsin (???) as general manager of the retailer with immediate effect.
The President Chain Store added that it launched an internal investigation into the case.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel