would love to see this if anyone knows which part
EDIT: never mind I didn’t read the whole thread
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It doesn’t say how much though, so that 200nt covers it. 
While not directly buxiban related I’ll throw out my/our experience last year here at our condo/apt. complex. We live in a very nice complex encompassing 3 buildings of approx. 100 units total. My SO has informed me that she has learned the units are 98% occupied by the original purchasers. In other words, it’s not an “investment” property where many units remain empty. This tells us that the property managers (a well-respected company) must be doing well.
Anyway, we have 3 very competent, friendly doormen/garagemen who are always there to assist with anything who worked the whole year of 2020, as well as 3 female “groundskeepers” who keep the property immaculate. When my SO saw them last year 2021 during CNY she noticed that none of them seemed very happy. She enquired and learned that the company they were employed by (property managers) had only given them CNY bonuses of NT $ 300 each ! Both Disgraceful and an Insult!! We agreed to give them our own CNY bonuses. So 6 red envelopes with 2 K in each were passed on to them by my SO. She related the stories of the smiles on their faces upon receiving them.
Looks like we’ll continue doing it for many years to come for those that have worked throughout the year here helping us…And that’s fine with us.
The point being I guess is that even profitable companies here in Taiwan screw over their employees…even if they’re Taiwanese.
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Many people give small gifts to the staff who man the desk at high rises
They really do appreciate any small or big offerings
I used to pass out a carton of cigarettes to each
Evergreen marine had a bumper year and reportedly offered quite a nice CNY bonus this year to their staff
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Instead that statistics before many people just get half a month bonus actually. Some years they didn’t give me anything or almost nothing when I worked for Taiwanese bosses. They would screw me because they would claw my salary back that way. I have very very little respect for Taiwanese employers.
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My boss told me I was incredibly ungrateful for expecting a bonus after I told her that the admin said we “all” get 14 month salary, not 12. I’m currently putting together a complete profile on all the overtime they owe me (over 90 hours/month x many months), so, considering I only got 2,000 in my red envelope at the weiya, I’ll be getting a lot more than two months pay when I go to the labor bureau and demand by overtime. But I’ll bring up the lack of a CNY bonus while I’m at it. Maybe I’ll take a year off of working afterwards (never. That would be so boring). Taiwanese bosses are so greedy though. Always trying to remind their employees that they should be grateful for what they have while themselves being driven around my personal drivers and living in fully serviced apartments with maids and fixers and everything else.
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Isn’t that amount of overtime illegal for the company? I went with someone to mediation before, and I remember the fines for stuff like that being not insignificant (mostly because they apply to each case, i.e., per day per employee).
Oh my employer breaks laws left and right. I have reported them sometimes up to ten times, with evidence, before anything was done. So my employer also clearly has connections in the Taipei City Government. The problem is that the overtime I have done is off the clock. Working hours are 7:40-5 (already twenty minutes longer than legal) and the clock automatically signs everyone out at 5. But I talked to the labor bureau already and they said that it’s illegal to misrepresent hours worked and that any work I do in my own time is overtime that must be paid for. I think it’s a max of 40 hours of overtime in a month that you can be expected to work. So my employer is going to be no more once I’ve spoken to the labor bureau (my complaint x 200 or so other employees just like me). I was planning to wait until my contract was almost over (they were going to pay me while I took off for grad school in May-Aug), but I’m not putting up with this anymore. The head claims to be “deeply concerned about the state of the world”, but it’s clear she is only worried about the numbers in her accounts, which are probably much lower than she was planning on. So they will be much, much lower after the labor bureau comes a knocking
Working off the clock is basically SOP in Taiwan regardless of what the law actually says. When I used to work at Carrefour as a cashier we had to count our money OFF THE CLOCK. That is actually their SOP too. So if big corps do this, what makes you think smaller companies will not?
I don’t know if they made any changes at Carrefour since either, or if they made money counting automatic (such as using those big machines that takes in your bills and they count it automatically).
In the US at Walmart you absolutely can’t do any work for the company off the clock and they are required to fire you if you do this. This is because they lost some really big lawsuits over this.
In Taiwan we depend on the government to enforce labor laws because there are no unions. So who’s going to hold corps accountable?
Maybe you need to start suing your employer rather than just reporting to some agency because clearly they represent the employers more than they represent workers.
I will find out what the labor bureau says when I actually officially file my case. I’ve called them a number of times just to make sure I’m not banking on something working out in my favor that is actually going to hurt me in the end. They tell me I have rights and that my employer cannot do what they are doing. Everyone else just quits when they get tired of the 
. I want to send a very clear message, because I’m tired of employers normalizing toxic workplaces
Well then stop going through the labor department because they clearly represent the employers by the way they process cases.
Go file a lawsuit immediately, and gather up everyone else who has the same problem as witnesses and co-plaintiffs.
Marco has number of a good lawyer who can help with this.
I’d be willing to testify on the SOP of many employers, including major ones, that violate labor laws.
Henceforth you shall be known as Polo.
With great power comes great responsibility.
I expect babies.
I haven’t filed any complaints through the labor bureau yet. They said you have to give your name and cannot remain anonymous. I need to make sure I have a new job before I let my employer know what I’m up to.
If the labor bureau fails me, the next step for me is the press.
Yea that’s the problem.
Labor laws in Taiwan is set up to benefit employers. If you have to give your name and can’t be anonymous then nobody will dare to report anyone and they will simply quit when they are tired of it. It’s designed that way. I think one of the biggest reason ROC lost China is because of how ROC protected the owner class, landlords, employers, rich people, etc. and that allowed CCP to win hearts and mind.
So everything in Taiwan is designed to help owner class. Workers in Taiwan are culturally considered expendable and are regarded as little more than slaves. What’s worse is Taiwanese are conditioned to simply accept it and not challenge anything.
The only way to change that is to work collectively.
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Where are you getting this information from? Have you ever actually done this? I thought you’re self-employed, and quite often when you make sweeping, negative statements like this they seem rather dubious (I realize that’s a sweeping statement in itself).
I’ve only done anything involving the labor bureau once (not for me, was helping a friend), but the mediation process worked really well and they did indeed follow the LSA to the benefit of the employee.
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I’ll keep everyone posted. But I’m not going to act until after CNY
I think the labor laws for small disputes are not as bad as they used to be, and the labor board has been able to help quite a few foreigners get compensation, but when it comes to big money you are basically going to get the shaft.
But you’re right, I’ve met some of the worst humans in my life working in Taiwan and they were always bosses who run their shit through emotional blackmail, fear, and control.
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I’m self employed now but I remember the horrors of being employed by others. Even the worst bosses I had in the US is nothing compared to bosses in Taiwan.
So if you think Taiwanese bosses are really nice, maybe because you’ve always worked high end jobs?
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