Formosa Chemicals workers protest amid regulatory battle between company, local govt

Formosa Chemicals and Fibre

15/10/2016 10:32

TAIPEI, Oct 15 (Reuters) - About 5,000 Formosa Chemicals & 
Fiber Corp  1326.TW  workers, their families and supporters 
staged a protest on Saturday, demanding the Changhua county 
government allow FCF's factory in the area to resume production. 
     TV footage showed the supporters of FCF - a major unit of 
the Formosa Plastics Group - holding signs with slogans such as 
"Renew the permits immediately" and "Resume production 
immediately" in front of the county government building, which 
was guarded by hundreds of police.  
    The demonstration is the latest development in an ongoing 
battle between FCF and the county government.  
    The chemical and fibre company said this week it had filed a 
petition with the central government after a meeting with the 
county failed to result in the renewal of permits for its 
cogeneration equipment. The plant has been shut down 
indefinitely.  
    "Our company has filed the petition. We want to put more 
pressure on the county government," Liu Shing-hwa, a 
representative of the protesters, told Reuters by phone.      
    FCF has said it will continue to pay the workers while the 
plant is shut down, but that is not enough, according to Liu. 
    "What we want most now is for the plant to be allowed to 
resume production as soon as possible," Liu said.  
    FCF has applied to renew its licenses for the power plant 
equipment, but the county has said the company has to apply for 
a new permit because the amount of coal and steam used during 
the manufacturing process has changed over the decades since the 
permits were originally issued.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1C61ZN 
    "We urge the company do so as soon as possible ... to 
protect the interests of the workers," a county government 
official said.  
    The plant mainly makes synthetic textile materials such as 
rayon staple and nylon fibres. The shutdown has affected about 
1,000 workers and their families. 
 
 
 (Reporting by Faith Hung; Editing by Tom Hogue) 
 ((faith.hung@thomsonreuters.com; 8862 2500 4893; Reuters 
Messaging: faith.hung.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: FCFC TAIWAN/PROTESTS