It is tradition for every Filipino worker that had a chance for a stint overseas to send some money to their loved ones back home for Christmas. During the Christmas period in the Philippines prices of goods and services are way more expensive when compared with the rest of the year. For Filipinos buying Christmas presents, decorating and planning for Christmas usually starts very early. In the Philippines Christmas celebrations take longer therefore everyone wants to be well prepared. This is because of the Filipino cultural heritage that they’ve inherited from Spain, a predominantly Catholic country.

It is depressing to think about those Filipino workers in Kaohsiung, who didn’t receive their salary for several months after working diligently at a shipbuilding company. What about their Christmas? For many who are the only sole breadwinners of their families or sole supporters of their nearest and dearest back home, they just don’t have any means to send anything back home. This isn’t just simply about presents and other luxurious wares; very often families in the Philippines can’t even afford a semi decent meal on the most important day of the year. This creates a hellish atmosphere of uncertainty after having hopes up for an extra Christmas fund that never materializes. Such a situation is painful on both sides as one is simply unable to provide for their loved ones on the other end, usually they are really in dire need of cash in order make their festive season untroubled.

Who is responsible for such a dire state of many Filipino families?

CHING FU SHIPBUILDING COMPANY had been reported to be involved in several fraud and loan scandals over its contract to build navy ships. Earlier this month, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) has terminated a TWD35.85billion (USD1.1 billion) contract with the company because of corruption. Now Ching Fu is facing another scandal for failing to pay its workers.

There were no Ching Fu Shipbuilding Company’s representatives attending the meeting held by the city’s Labor Affairs Bureau. The 115 workers who haven’t received their salaries for October and November remain unpaid.

The Labor Affairs Bureau had helped 4 Filipinos to switch jobs, they helped 7 of them to return to the Philippines, and 4 have new pending jobs. There were 45 Filipino overseas workers working for Ching Fu Company, that leaves 30 of them still in Taiwan without many resources on what was supposed to be the happiest day of the year. Their living conditions are to not reported nor supervised by the employment agencies. The Labor Affairs Bureau is appealing to the public to help the affected Filipino workers who were left in this grim situation so they too can have a happy Christmas.