Thai workers strike over salary details

This article was published by the Taiwan Headlines on March 14, 2006. It reports that some 1,00 Thai workers at the Sixth Naptha Cracking Plant in west-central Taiwan's Yunlin County recently went on strike. They were in protest of what they called an unreasonable salary structure. According to the Formosa Plastics Corp., which owns and runs the plant, officials of the Thai representative office in Taipei have been asked to negotiate on behalf of these workers, in order to find a possible solution and end the strike.

The striking Thai workers were recruited by the CICT Corp., a well-known local engineering consulting firm, to work at the Mailiao Industrial Zone for an expansion project of the sixth naphtha cracker - the first privately-owned oil refinery in Taiwan. The striking workers were a part of a 5,000-strong workforce at the zone. The remaining workers were recruited by other companies.

According to the striking Thai workers, they went on strike because the salaries offered by the CICT Corp. were less than those offered by other companies. These other companies do not deduct food, brokerage and other fees from the salaries of these workers.

However, representatives from the CICT Corp. argued that food, brokerage and other fees charged by the company amounts to NT$4,300, which are clearly stipulated in the contracts of these Thai workers. The minimum monthly salary paid to Thai workers is currently NT$16,000.

A Formosa Plastics manager stationed at the plant also argued that the striking Thai workers clearly knew about their salaries and relevant deductions before they signed the contracts to work in Taiwan. He further pointed out that those Thai workers recruited by other companies were working on different projects and therefore received different wages.

According to the Labor Standards Law, local employers may deduct food cost from the salaries of foreign workers if such deductions do not exceed NT$4,000 a month.