TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taipei-based online bookseller books.com.tw, also known as Pok'elai (博客來), has come under fire for allegedly misleading an illiterate cleaning lady to sign an employment contract that left her with no pension after she worked at the company for over 20 years.
Pok'elai, a subsidiary of President Chain Store Corp (統一超) and UniPresident Group, responded hours after public outcry over the exploitation, saying the woman would be hired as a permanent employee.
Lawyer Chen You-xin (陳又新) posted about the case on his Facebook page on Friday (Dec. 23), describing the e-commerce operator's treatment of the cleaning lady as "disappointing."
He said the woman showed up at his office and explained her situation. "I was informed today to leave next month, and until now I have just realized my employer did not make contributions to my pension," the woman said.
"The company has never provided me with labor or health insurance, or holiday bonuses, since I have worked there," she added. She was said to be referred to Chen by employees working in the company as "they encouraged me to seek legal assistance."
After reading the contract presented by the woman, Chen found that the agreement, which the woman could not understand due to her illiteracy, defines the woman as a contractor, rather than an employee, and that accordingly deprives her of the benefits that permanent workers are entitled to as stipulated by the local labor regulations.
"The online bookstore giant is taking advantage of the cleaning lady," he said. "Over the past 20 years, she had to clock in and out like other permanent employees, worked under tight supervision, and took days off according to company policy, and that completely violates the nature of a contractor."
"Obviously, the company signed an agreement of this kind with the cleaning lady, who had been low-paid, couldn't read, and was not aware of the trick, to avoid the responsibility of giving the woman better protection to save on costs."
The contract posted on Chen's FB page shows the woman's monthly income was NT$29,500 (US$959).
Law professor Liu Hung-en (劉宏恩) of National Cheng Chih University on Friday (Dec. 23) commented on the incident, saying that as a premium member of the e-commerce site, he deserves an explanation from the company on how it will handle the issue and repays the woman, or it would be difficult for him to make any purchase on the platform.
An alleged former bookstore employee also wrote on her own FB page that the woman was the only cleaning lady for the office of hundreds of people when she worked there. "The woman is friendly and nice, I feel sorry she was treated that way," she commented.
On Saturday morning, President Chain Store Corp stated it is aware of the issue and will soon carry out an internal investigation. The parent company also removed Jiang Cheng-shin (江呈欣), the top manager of the online bookstore operator, while they carry out the investigation, according to the press release.
