[Sportschosun reporter Jang Jong-ho] A contract worker in China who had worked for five years at a company has sparked controversy after claiming that, when he refused an offer to resign, he was told to commute to a poor office space set up about 50 km from his home.
According to Chinese media outlets including Jimu News, a man identified as Mr. Chen, who lives in Shenzhen, had worked on a contract basis and been dispatched to another company for the past five years after joining the firm. In June, however, the project was scaled back, and he was told to step away from the assignment.
Chen said the company held two meetings afterward and offered him 20,000 yuan, or about 4 million won, as a "consolation payment" if he resigned voluntarily. He added that the company also said it would place him on standby and pay him at the minimum wage if he refused.
Chen did not accept the standby order. The company then rented a shared office about 50 km from his residence and told him to report there for work.
According to the material Chen released, his individual workspace there measured only about 4 to 5 square meters, or roughly 1.2 to 1.5 pyeong. He said the glass-walled structure became hot when exposed to strong sunlight and had neither air conditioning nor ventilation.
The company also reportedly required employees working there to log their arrival and departure four times a day and to submit to camera monitoring of the workspace.
Chen and several colleagues refused the commute order, and the company later instructed them to return to their previous sales site, according to reports. Chen said that if the company truly needed to reduce staff, it should carry out layoffs through proper procedures. About 10 employees, including Chen, are reportedly in similar situations.
A local lawyer explained that a company cannot be deemed illegal simply for ordering an employee to move to a specific location. Instead, the distance to the actual workplace, the working environment, the terms of the existing labor contract, and the circumstances behind the company’s decision must all be considered.
The lawyer added that if the company had effectively intended to pressure employees into resigning by assigning them to a place far from home or by providing conditions so poor that normal work was difficult, the matter could lead to a legal dispute. He advised employees to raise clear objections and secure relevant evidence.
Reporter Jang Jong-ho bellho@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
