Pregnant Vietnamese worker at Garmin gets job back after protests
Summary
Date Reported: 3 May 2023
Location: Taiwan
Companies
Garmin Ltd. - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: 1
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( 1 - Vietnam , Manufacturing: General , Women , Documented migrants )Issues
Access to Information , Dismissal , Pregnancy discriminationResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Journalist
External link to response: (Find out more)
Action taken: After the incident, civil society groups held a press conference to call attention to how Garmin had violated not only Taiwanese labor laws, but standards that it should adhere to as a member of the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) - the world’s largest coalition organisation for corporate social responsibility in supply chains. Garmin rehired Bui Thi Nhung.
Source type: News outlet
... Vietnamese factory worker Bui Thi Nhung’s employment at Garmin’s Xizhi factory in New Taipei was terminated when management discovered she was pregnant. Garmin approached her with resignation papers but offered no translation for the documents, nor was she informed of her labor rights. Therefore, she felt she had no choice but to resign.
Speaking to Taiwan News through a Vietnamese translator on Wednesday (May 3), Bui said that while she is happy Garmin has decided to reemploy her, she hopes the company will provide similar treatment to other migrant workers in the future, even if their situation does not receive media attention like hers. Bui added that if other migrant workers experience a similar situation, they should seek translation if they do not understand what is being asked of them.
In response to the accusation that Bui was forced out of her job, the company said on Friday (April 28) that the worker resigned voluntarily because she wanted to return to her home country in order to give birth, contradicting Bui’s statement. Tian Chi-feng (田奇峰) of the Taoyuan Serve the People Association has been supporting Bui and told Taiwan News that Bui never expressed a wish to return home.
Garmin's PR agency told Taiwan News that negotiations with Bui have resulted in her reemployment, and they will make changes to internal processes to prevent similar incidents...