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During an interpellation in the Legislative Yuan on October 7, Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) Chairman Tseng Ming-chung said that he would look into issues regarding employees working overtime in 39 banks and require them to take into account the rights of the staff.

NOWnews reports, the FSC released a labor inspection report in May. According to the report, employees in the bank, insurance and security industries work an average of 7.1 to 8.92 hours a day with an average of no more than one hour of working overtime per day. The statistics are all within the legal range regulated in the Labor Standards Act. These results have aroused concern and doubt from the society.

Taiwan Federation of Financial Union points out that the results of the inspection came from the data of the banks collected and compiled by the financial association. Since the financial association is an employers’ organization, the findings may not reflect the truth. They often have received cases about employees in the financial industry impeaching their companies for working overtime without getting paid through the union.

During labor inspections, the banks may require employees to answer that they stay at work voluntarily to pass the inspection. Other banks report a false amount of the employees’ overtime hours.

Liberty Times reports, according to the results from the Taipei City Department of Labor’s inspection on working conditions in the banking industry, among 32 banks, 97% did not comply to regulations regarding payments of working overtime, 69% were beyond legal overtime hours and 56% failed to hold labor-management meetings according to regulations. The fine is estimated to be about NT$ 9 million (approximately US$ 270 thousand).

According to an ETTV report in 2013, issues like illegal lay-off and difficulties in transfer are often to be seen in the financial industry. An employee with ten years of experience reveals that it’s normal to be verbally abused and work overtime for 12 hours in both headquarters and branches.

Member of the Union of Bank SinoPac Guan Shao-jun says that working 11 or 12 hours every single day is causing great pressure on the employees both physically and psychologically.

Translated by Vic Chiang
Edited by Olivia Yang

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