Farmer employees did not take out labor health insurance and employment insurance, and were compensated for 300000! Cai Peihui: it is not a single case, but the Ministry of Labor of the Council of Agriculture should negotiate and support it.

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There is a serious shortage of workers in agriculture, and some farmers follow the tradition of "changing jobs together" to find help from relatives and friends, or to hire foreign workers. However, most farmers may not know that these common daily pay methods for spot workers in rural areas are under the jurisdiction of the Labor Law. For example, if you employ more than five people at a time to assist in harvesting, you need to take out compulsory labor insurance, even if you hire only one person to harvest for three days, you need to apply for employment insurance. And if you work for a certain number of days, even one person needs to be insured by labor and health insurance. But farmers usually do not realize that they are "employers" and often go to the brink of breaking the law because they do not know it.

A few days ago, there was a case in which farmer Zhang Hongtian hired a helper, Mr. Xiao, to manage the orchard for a short time, but because he was not feeling well, he was hospitalized for a year due to infection caused by the operation. During this period, Xiao was asked to take care of the orchard, which lasted for about a year and a half. Unexpectedly, half a year after the termination of employment, Xiao filed a civil claim against him on the grounds that Zhang had not insured labor health insurance and employment insurance. Zhang asked for compensation for "severance payment and advance salary,"retirement payment", "unemployment benefit" and "occupational disaster compensation" totaling 300000 yuan.

Zhang Hongtian was badly hit and asked the Ministry of Labor and the Council of Agriculture for an explanation, but the Ministry of Labor believes that agriculture is governed by labor-based laws, and that "penalties can be imposed only if employers do not draw up a labor register or record a salary scale." On the other hand, the Council of Agriculture believes that the competent authority of labor law is in the Ministry of Labor, and the Council of Agriculture can only remind farmers to avoid risks. Tsai Peihui, a retired legislator who has been involved in the rural movement for many years, said that Zhang Hongtian's situation is not a single case, and the impact is broad, and the Ministry of Labor and the Council of Agriculture should consult together to find supporting measures that can be solved in the long run.

Zhang Hongtian said that he had lost his health and trust in human nature, and hoped that no other farmers would suffer the same pain as him. (photo / Lin Jiyang) "paying by the day to help farmers" has become a "labor dispute", with farmers being compensated for 300000 yuan.

Zhang Hongtian, now 70, went to Kaohsiung to work hard as a small contractor when he was young. before he retired, he began to look everywhere for agricultural improvement farms to study organic and natural farming methods. At the age of 60, he "gave up his job from farming." he first planted non-toxic sweet potatoes and successfully planted wheat. three years ago, he inherited two and a half agricultural land in Zhongpu, Chiayi, and planned it as a passion orchard.

In the spring of 2018, Zhang Hongtian is scheduled to undergo knee replacement surgery, which is expected to include a few months of recovery. in April, he mediated manpower through the Chiayi Employment guidance Station to find Mr. Xiao, who registered for a job, and both sides agreed to manage the orchard on a daily basis. Unexpectedly, an infection occurred after the operation, and he began a series of treatment and recovery processes. He was hospitalized for more than a year. After he was discharged from the hospital, he still had to recover and recuperate. During this period, he continued to hire Xiao to take care of the orchard.

However, due to the worse-than-expected recovery, the doctor told Zhang Hongtian that he was no longer allowed to engage in agriculture, and in June 2019 he proposed to Xiao to terminate the cooperation. Unexpectedly, at the end of the year, Xiao filed a civil claim against him for compensation of "severance payment and advance salary", "retirement payment", "unemployment benefit" and "occupational disaster compensation" totaling 300000 yuan on the grounds of uninsured labor and health insurance and employment insurance.

After the disaster of life and death in the hospital, but once again faced with litigation, he returned to the Baixiang orchard, which had been managed by hired workers, and the tragic situation of abandonment made him filled with emotion. "with a meagre agricultural income, looking for someone without a job is like holding an irregular bomb?"

Zhang Hongtian was very surprised. In his impression, the peasant employees "hire people to help today and be hired to work tomorrow." they are paid on a daily basis, and the completion of the project ends when both parties thank each other. How could there be such a compensation lawsuit?. On the one hand, he enquired around, and on the other hand, he asked the Ministry of Labour and the Council of Agriculture for an explanation through legislator Wu Ching-Yu.

On December 31st last year (2019), legislator Wu Meiyu invited his Council of Agriculture and the Ministry of Labor to hold a coordination meeting on the case of Zhang Hongtian. Zhang Hongtian heard an official from the Ministry of Labor mention that "once the labor law is applied, penalties can be imposed only if the employer has not drawn up a labor register or recorded a salary scale." He could not believe that he burst into tears on the spot. He marveled at the situation of the farmers: "the income of farming is meagre, and it is troublesome enough to find someone without a job. Do you still have to hold an indefinite time bomb when you find someone?"

The Council of Agriculture: it is difficult to amend the Labor Law. It is recommended that employees find familiar relatives and friends to avoid disputes.

Qiu Dingxiang, the organizer of the Council of Agriculture who attended the coordination meeting, explained: "the Council of Agriculture is not the unit in charge of the labor law, and it is impossible to contravene the labor law. Zhang Hongtian advocated that the application of the Labor Law should be exempted in this case, which is not for the Council of Agriculture to decide. "

Qiu added, "if there is a situation where the labor law is not applicable (for example, families are excluded from the scope of application), the Ministry of Labor will explain it by letter, but in this case, the Ministry of Labor suggests that employers should negotiate with workers, and if there is no settlement, they can only let the court decide." In other words, the Ministry of Labor believes that the case cannot be excluded from the labor-employment relationship.

Cai Peijun, director of the Agricultural Manpower Office of the guidance Office of the Council of Agriculture, said: "it is very difficult to amend the current Labor Law, and it is suggested that farmers should try their best to find familiar relatives and friends to avoid disputes; or at the time of employment, both parties should agree on a contracting relationship and avoid command / subordination in order to avoid labor disputes afterwards." For example, in the substitute farming system, when the harvester is harvested, the farmer only receives the results but does not intervene in the process, and the two sides do not have a command / subordinate relationship, even if they are contracted.

Peasant household employees step into the "grey area of violation of the law"

She frankly said that most farmers employ workers on a small scale, and although less than five people are exempted from compulsory labor insurance, regardless of the number of working days, they still have the obligation to provide labor return and compulsory employment insurance as far as the labor law is concerned, as well as the existence of grey areas in violation of the law, such as the occupational disaster risk of employees.

In the face of the problem of labor shortage and the risk of labor disputes over self-employment, Cai Peijun said that the Council of Agriculture has been in various places.