Filipina OFW previously working in Taiwan cries unjust termination of contract

MANILA, Philippines — A female overseas Filipino worker (OFW) has decried a Taiwanese company’s allegedly unjust termination of her contract, saying that she was asked to leave even if a co-worker was the one at fault for peeping at her while asleep.

Information relayed by OFW advocate Emmanuel Geslani said that the dismissed OFW’s coordinator took photos of her while scantily-clad, which was then uploaded on social media the following day.

Geslani relayed that the victim then reported it to her supervisor in the company, which was located at Taiwan’s Yukang District in Tainan County. The next day, the OFW said that she was called to the office of the company manager, which then informed her that her contract was terminated.

The victim is seeking help from either the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) or the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Geslani noted.

“A female OFW who was working for a factory in Taiwan and a victim of voyeurism or a peeping tom is asking for justice with the POEA/OWWA as she who was the victim but instead terminated by her employer,” Geslani said. “The OFW arrived in the country last June 25, 2021 visibly sad and angry with her employer […] for the illegal dismissal given to her by her company.”

“The following day she was called to the office of the manager and in the presence of her broker she was told that she was being terminated and had 30 minutes to pack her bags to be brought to the safe house while her departure documents were being prepared by her broker,” he added.

The OFW said in a statement sent by Geslani that she does not want to leave her work, but was forced to do so as the company supposedly sided with the erring coordinator.

But the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) told INQUIRER.net that they have not received any such complaints,  adding that they may have helped if the OFW messaged them or the OWWA office in Taiwan.

MECO is the Philippines’ representative office in Taiwan, which arranges affairs between the two countries.

According to Geslani, the OFW said that it was unfair for the company, a mass production facility in Tainan, to terminate her contract without even conducting an investigation. The OFW also chose not to pursue filing a complaint as it may result in her being blacklisted in Taiwan.

“[The OFW] lamented that it was so unfair […] that no investigation was made and [the company] took the side of the coordinator who was the culprit. Instead she was being terminated for the picture incident and management took the side of the coordinator who denied peeping [into] her bunk,” Geslani said.

“Despite her broker’s help to file a complaint with the CLA (Council of Labor Affairs) the time for the investigation would take a long time and since the contract […] was up to November 2021 it would be best to withdraw the complaint,” he added.

On the side of MECO, they advised the OFW, who has returned to the Philippines, to file a case against the local recruitment agency affiliated with the broker or the company.

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