Indonesia: Report highlights human rights & environmental impacts of Taiwanese business
"Report on the Human Rights and Environmental Impact of Taiwanese Businesses in Indonesia" 10 November 2024
[The report] examines labor violations in Indonesia by a Taiwanese garment manufacturer, Tainan Enterprises ( 台南企業 )...Pegatron ( 和碩 ) in the electronics sector...Walsin Lihwa Corporation ( 華新麗華 ) and Yieh Phui Enterprise ( 燁輝 ), both of which have operations and investments in the nickel industry in Indonesia...
Tainan Enterprises
Tainan Enterprises Indonesia, a subsidiary of Tainan Enterprises in Taiwan...is in the Cakung National Bonded Zone...it produces apparel such as pants, shirts, blazers and suits for various brands marketed in the United States of America (USA). These brands include: Eileen Fisher, Peyton Trouser Petite, Marissa Webb, LOFT Outlet, L.L. Bean, J.Jill love linen, Jason Wu, J.Crew, Bean Signature, Ann Taylor...
Tainan Enterprises Indonesia has a reputation for union busting...Tainan also terminated the employment of pregnant workers and failed to offer compensation to workers whose contracts were not extended... In early 2024, a case of sexual violence occurred at Tainan Enterprises... Although the company claims that the case is under investigation, FSBPI [union] is never informed about any progress after it complained...The sewing workers at Tainan face significant challenges in meeting their basic needs for drinking water while working....
According to the contract workers interviewed, they are not afforded the opportunity to review and comprehend the terms of their employment agreements when signing them...It is estimated that when production targets are high, workers usually work for 15 to 30 minutes per day longer than normal working hours without accounted into overtime...
Pegatron
Pegatron has operated in Indonesia since 2019, initially under the name Pegatron, then changed its name to Pegaunihan...Pegaunihan factory is located in Batamindo Industrial Estate, Muka Kuning, Batam city. Pegaunihan manufactures a wide range of products for electronics companies based in Europe, USA and Japan. These buyers include Sagemcom, Vodafone, Jaguar, and Atros...
Interviews with 10 workers from the operator, technician, and staff levels revealed a consistent sentiment that the company does not take occupational health and safety (OSH) education and training seriously...Pagaunihan violates conditions required by government regulations to ensure the health and safety of night shift workers...There are strong indications that the company is neglecting the health risks faced by workers, particularly concerning the use of chemical substances...
In mid-September 2024, workers reported an incident indicating potential forced overtime and punitive measures for refusing extra work: Approximately 30 operators had their contracts not renewed...
Walsin Lihwa Corporation (華新麗華) and Yieh Phui Enterprise (燁輝)
...numerous research reports have highlighted poor practices in the development and operation of the IWIP industrial area...IMIP has faced numerous challenges. Work-related accidents have increased almost annually, and environmental issues have severely impacted local communities around the industrial area. Despite these ongoing concerns, there have been no notable efforts from the company to implement improvements...
Through [...] investigation, we identified leading Taiwanese stainless steel conglomerate Walsin Lihwa Corporation (華新麗華) operating in IWIP and IMIP, and Yieh Phui Enterprise (燁輝企業股份有限公司) heavily involved in Indonesia's nickel industry.
Walsin Lihwa Corporation...has several subsidiaries in Indonesia, four of which are operating in the nickel industrial parts and are involved in the production, manufacture and sales of nickel products, including nickel pig iron and nickel matte: PT Walsin Nickel Industrial Indonesia, PT Sunny Metal Industry, and PT Walhsu Metal Industry...
Taiwan, Yieh Phui Enterprise is heavily involved in the mining and manufacturing of nickel in Indonesia through its 80% held subsidiary Hong Yuh Assets Management Co.,Ltd... Additionally, Yieh Phui partially owns several other companies involved in the mining and manufacturing of nickel in Indonesia...
In December 2024, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited companies and other stakeholders (including clients, major shareholders and certification bodies) that did not respond to TTNC Watch on allegations at Tainan Enterprises and Pegatron to provide their responses. Their responses and non-responses are recorded below on this page.
Among certification bodies, amfori (BSCI), BSR (HERproject) and WRAP responded. Responsible Business Alliance, Cascale (Higg Index) did not respond.