Former Bank Employee Wrongfully Terminated and Not Allowed to Apply for Retirement Benefits
(Minghui.org) Because a Jiamusi City, Heilongjiang Province resident refused to renounce Falun Gong, his employer terminated him in 2000 without issuing any formal notice as required by law. Mr. Tian Haitao appealed against the wrongful termination, but to no avail. Having reached retirement age, he is now barred from applying for retirement benefits.
Mr. Tian used to work as an IT technician at Fujin City Agricultural Bank. He worked very hard and was awarded as provincial level and city level star employee for several years in a row.
After the Chinese communist regime ordered the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999, Mr. Tian's bank worked with the local 610 Office to persecute him. Since 2000, he hasn’t been allowed to report to work nor issued any pay. No formal termination notice was ever issued. When Mr. Tian wrote to his then-manager seeking reinstatement of his job, the then-bank president Liu Zhimin said to him, “There is no way for me to arrange work for you. Feel free to file a complaint against me wherever you like.”
When Mr. Tian reached retirement age in May 2023, he contacted the bank again to submit his retirement application. But the bank refused to accept it, and Zhang Ruifeng, the current bank president, said to him, “You were already fired in 2000 because you were absent from work. You can file a complaint against us at the disciplinary committee.”
Mr. Tian said he never received any notice in 2000 about his job termination. When he was serving a labor camp term in 2001 for practicing Falun Gong, the bank was still paying into his retirement account. He said to Zhang that verbal job termination was not legally enforceable. Zhang responded, “Feel free to bring a lawsuit against us.”
Mr. Tian recently wrote a letter to the bank. He pointed out that his spiritual belief could not be used as a reason for the bank to deprive him of employment. He said that anyone who was involved in making the decision has abused their powers and violated his basic human rights.
Mr. Tian cited Article 44 of the Constitution, which stipulates that “The state implements the retirement system for employees of enterprises, institutions, and state organs in accordance with the law. The livelihood of retirees should be guaranteed by the state and society.”
In addition, Article 73 of the Labor Law also ruled that “The conditions and standards for laborers to enjoy social insurance benefits can only be regulated by laws and regulations, while local government departments have no right to decide the conditions and standards of social insurance benefits for retirees to enjoy.”
Previous Detention, Torture and Drug Administration
In addition to the financial persecution, Mr. Tian has also been arrested multiple times and subjected to brutal torture in custody over the past 24 years of persecution by the Chinese communist regime.
For going to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong in May 2000, Mr. Tian was arrested and given one year at the Jiamusi Forced Labor Camp. He was arrested a few more times between 2002 and 2008 and subjected to intimidation and extortion.
Mr. Tian was arrested again on the evening of February 12, 2009 while visiting another practitioner. He was taken to the Jiamusi City Detention Center that night. Three detainees were assigned to monitor him. He held a hunger strike to protest. The detainees force-fed him, adding a large amount of salt to the food.
The guards also injected Mr. Tian with unknown drugs, while tying him on the ground in a spread-eagle position. Although the detention center doctor claimed it was anti-inflammatory drugs, Mr. Tian always suffered systemic pain and discomfort afterwards.
A week later, he was transferred to the strict control cell. Instigated by the guards, the detainees verbally abused him, pulled his pubic hair, stuffed his mouth with spicy peppers and kicked and stomped on him. His ribs were injured and he suffered excruciating pain. A large swollen area also appeared on his chest.
Mr. Tian almost died from suffocation during a force-feeding session. After that, the guards and detainees left the feeding tube in his nose. By the time they changed the tube two weeks later, the inner wall of the tube was covered with mold. Despite Mr. Tian’s serious condition, the police still interrogated him.
Due to the torture, Mr. Tian became emaciated and was unconscious most of the time. Yet the police still attempted to take him to the Suihua Forced Labor Camp. While performing a physical examination on Mr. Tian, they forcibly tied his hands and feet. After the labor camp doctors noted that all of his organs were failing, they refused to admit him. After 48 days of torture, Mr. Tian was released on the brink of death. His family was also extorted for 2,000 yuan.
Upon returning home, he had persistent fever and vomited blood. The pain kept him awake and he was unable to lie down. When his family took him to the hospital for a checkup, he was found to have fluid and sputum purulence accumulation in his lungs. The doctors said they couldn’t treat him and sent him home. Mr. Tian later resumed practicing Falun Gong and gradually recovered.
Mr. Tian after he was released