Last summer, a Taipei student surnamed Wu found a part-time job distributing fliers online. The job required Wu to report to a distributor's office every morning at 7 a.m., help transport the fliers, attend an information session, then ride with coworkers to the distribution site.
Once at the day's worksite, Wu had to carry around eight to ten kilograms of fliers in all kinds of weather, while he stuffed fliers into one mailbox after another following each distributor's particular instructions on how to do it. (Every distributor has its own rules on mailbox stuffing, such as placing its fliers in the upper left corner of the mailbox so as to keep them separate from those of other distributors.) After all the fliers were distributed, Wu and the others would ride back to the office together where they would then help clean up and put away equipment and tidy up before going home for the day.
Take it or leave it
The part-timers and homeless people who carry these heavy loads of fliers through their assigned areas often suffer neuromuscular problems as a result of their work. Even Wu, who had the job for only a short time, ended up with back pain. But the publishers don't enroll their part-timers in either the Labor Insurance or National Health Insurance program, leaving the part-timers to pay for treatment out of pocket.
Wu was more annoyed that while his salary purported to be NT$100 per hour, the distributor only counted the hours that workers spent at the distribution site. They ignored time spent on travel, on the odd jobs and presentations that occupied the morning and evening, and on lunch. Workers received only NT$700 for a ten-hour day, a figure that works out to NT$70 per hour, or far less than the current NT$95-per-hour minimum wage.
When Wu complained to the distributor's section chief, he was told, "Take it or leave it. There are loads of others who'd jump at the chance."
It seems legal....
This kind of behavior isn't limited to small, low-visibility job markets. In fact, it's common everywhere from world-renowned fast-food restaurants to local coffee shops.
A student surnamed Lin from Taichung used to work at a Mongolian barbeque stand in a nightmarket near his school. To earn a little more money for his family, he also began working as a delivery person at an international fast-food restaurant about a month ago. The fast-food joint offered labor, health, and accident insurance on top of the minimum wage of NT$95 per hour and an NT$15-per-delivery gas allowance.
It seemed reasonable, but Lin realized something wasn't right soon after he started. First of all, his job description expanded from cleaning dishes and clearing tables during time between deliveries to also working at the counter, helping in the kitchen, sweeping the bathroom, and working the late shift. Worse, unlike pizza delivery places, the company didn't provide company delivery vehicles. Lin soon learned that the cost of fuel and wear-and-tear on his own motorcycle far exceeded the delivery allowance.
Lin and other part-timers approached management about these problems, but were offered nothing but repeated excuses. Frustrated with management's response, they ultimately quit en masse to save both their wallets and their beloved scooters.
Enforcement needed
There's nothing exceptional about the experiences described above. Hu Meng-yu, a member of Youth Labor Union 95's executive committee who has long been involved in youth labor issues, says that though the government raised the minimum wage for part-time work from NT$66 per hour to NT$95 per hour in July 2007, many employers have simply ignored the law. They refuse to pay the higher wages, deduct numerous penalties from employee paychecks (for being late, not working hard, not making enough sales, etc.), or neglect to enroll their employees in the Labor Insurance, National Health Insurance and Labor Pension programs.
Lin Chia-ho, an assistant professor in the Law Department of National Chengchi University who studies labor law, says that while the law contains no explicit definition of "student part-timers," laws that apply to workers in general should naturally apply to students as well. In his view, the problem is that students lack worldly experience and don't know their legal rights. When they are mistreated, they chalk it up to personal misfortune and quit. It's no wonder then that some employers abuse their part-timers with impunity.
Lin believes that the competent authorities should pay attention to students' vulnerability and other special circumstances. He says they should closely monitor the industries in which kids work part time, particularly through labor inspections. Hu, on the other hand, argues that university students should be encouraged to understand labor law, and recommends that they should collect and preserve evidence of violations by employers. Such evidence would enable them to reasonably make their cases and file complaints with Youth Labor Union 95. In Hu's view, they have power if they act collectively. "We want to provide young people who have been unable to defend themselves with access to justice," he says.
Rights and experience
Bread and roses have long been symbols of the labor movement-bread representing the salaries on which workers live and roses standing for benefits and dignified working conditions. Because schools rarely teach labor law, most young people don't realize until they themselves encounter unfairness on the job that the law protects only those who understand it. They then discover that they have to fight for their bread and roses themselves.
This may well be the most valuable "experience" students gain from their part-time jobs.
Youth Labor Union 95's website: blog.roodo.com/youthlabor95To file a complaint, call 0980-995-491 or email payme95@yahoo.com.twFor information on filing complaint with city or county labor bureaus, see: blog.roodo.com/youthlabor95/archives/4092667.html
@List.jpg?w=522&h=410&mode=crop&format=webp&quality=80)
