Let's talk about the economic crisis - the inpact toward employment market of Taiwan and the UK.

Everyone in Taiwan seems over confident to the current economic crisis. Recently, I have heard lots of my colleagues were giggling: wow...finally! a big order since last November! The market is recovered!

As an professional HR practitioner in Taiwan, I will, of course, always be the first one and the only to tell the story and shout to watch up!

Why? Let's look at the unemployment rate in the Europe, America and even China. It still remains over 10% and still hiking up! Taiwan as a 99% manufacturing country could be possible to recover now all of a second while every one in the world is still suffering from high unemployment and inflation?

For further analysis please refer to the current people management, CIPD, UK.

The link: http://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/pm/blog-posts/2009/09/what-kind-of-jobs-recovery-does-the-uk-face.htm

Employee relations management in Taiwan

Since I have been working in Taiwan as an HR for 2 years, something I have noticed is: Taiwanese companies seem to have super weak employee relations management strength. 

Taiwanese employers mostly treat their employees: self-owned--> I (employers) own them (employees).

And something makes me feel quite frankly is: employees seem OK with it and don't care too much about employee relations either?!

Taiwanese employees see their employers: unapproachable royalty --> I (employees) always have to follow their (employers') command.

Even the employees here also have something called "trade union", it doesn't seem actually know how to use its right and authority either. The trade union here in Taiwan very easily becomes a pet of the employer or a name chop of the application forms for the employer when it needs it.

It is very different from the UK.  Why and what makes me get this impression? Please refer to the article and news cited from the online news and CIPD website regarding to "lay-off" and "redundant" cases.

1.http://www.coolloud.org.tw/node/40838

**cited from Taiwan hard working labours website**

----> Where is the trade union of TSMC? Did those employees who were redundant  paid trade union fee every month from their salary? Yes! Did you see any member of TSMC trade union come to help with this case? No?! or I should say I don't really see it here through this case and if they did have tried. Then obviously, it is "not powerful enough". 800 - 1000 employees were redundant right before Taiwanese traditional new year (it is as important as the UK's Xmas) without proper reason and redundant procedure. Only 17 knew to raise their voice to the Labour bureau afterwards!!!!Wow!!!!! incredible!!!! And did we see the government helped those inocent employees? err....not really either. 

Personally, I won't say those 800-1000 TSMC employees were "redundant". In this case it looks like  those employees were "unfairly dismissal by TSMC".

But if it is unfair we might expect large number of victims step up to fight for their working right? Sadly, the answer is negative!! Most of the victims chose to keep quiet and carry on hunting for their next job without asking for anything. Don't ask me why cause' I also don't really understand and still can't figure it out yet-_-!

2. In the contrary, let's look at the UK standard and defination of "redundancy" and learn more about the proper way to do it then---> 

http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/emplaw/redundancy/?area=hs

http://www.cipd.co.uk/subjects/emplaw/redundancy/redundancy.htm

We can easily understand: A proper way to make large redundancy when the company need it is to well plan and respect the leavers. After all, HR is dealing with human beings not "disposable things". 

**cited from UK CIPD website**

P.S. Parhaps, I read too much and got the wrong impression of this case. If i have given the wrong commends of Taiwanese employee relations management, I would be keen to find someone who can tell me about how Taiwanese (or I should say Asian) employee relations management is and of course in a right (professional HR)  way.