Exploited abused migrant workers are building the King's new palace

Exploited abused workers building Malaysia's new Palace?? Shameful that UMNO-led BN government is allowing this...

Workers building the new palace for the Malaysian King are being exploited...this is an embarrassment. (see media reports below.)

UMNO-led BN government is, I believe, really pro-employer pro-big businesses ....and not pro-workers. Over the years, this government has, by their actions and omissions, demonstrated that they are not concerned about worker rights or welfare. Under present laws and policies, it makes it so easy for employers to not only exploit workers.. but to get away scot-free. This applies to all workers in Malaysia - both local and migrant workers. We have a law that when a unionized worker gets wrongfully terminated by the employer, that worker is no longer a member of the union - and as such cannot hope for the assistance of the workers' union at the time the worker most needs it. [The Malaysian Trade Union Congress have been long campaigning for a repeal of this unjust provision in law.]

Labour suppliers....sub-contractors...outsourcing companies... - this has all made workers weak...unable to unite against a common employer. Further, it also 'blurs' the worker-employer relationship as currently enshrined in labour laws... ["...more than 1,000 migrant workers from Indonesia, Bangladesh, Nepal and Vietnam hired by more than 130 sub-contractors..." This means less than 10 workers per 'employer', in fact about 7.69 per 'employer' - is this number even enough to form a trade union? Divide...and oppress.

In the construction industry, it may make sense having to sub-contract different parts of the contract, i.e. one for the electrical people, one for the water/sewage systems, one for the elevators/lifts, one for those doing the tiling works, etc... but sadly the same thing is happening in the factories as well.

The factory owners...or the main contractor...just turns around and say that they are not the employers...and that they own no obligations to the sad workers. What about occupational health and safety...?

Living conditions of workers - Malaysia still does not have any law that stipulates the minimum standard of temporary housing for workers at construction sites... or even housings that is provided by employers in factories..for workers (migrant workers usually)... Why don't we have a regulation/law stipulating minimum housing standards...and food requirements? We have needed such laws for a very long time now...

Even, when there are laws stipulating worker rights - what happens when the worker tries to claim his/her rights - they lose their jobs... and, in the case of migrant workers, they may even get arrested, detained and deported without getting paid their wages, etc... [Unscrupulous employers call the police, RELA...and they come arrest the migrant workers. Why? Because the migrant workers cannot show their passports and/or their immigration work passes...as their employer (or sub-contractors...or agents) are wrongfully holding on to these documents. Since the worker is a trouble maker for claiming rights, the employer just do not go get them out...and they languish in the detention centers,...sometime even get whipped...and deported.]. See recent media statement about this:- STOP PENALIZING WORKERS WHO WANT TO GET JUSTICE - MAXTER GLOVE SHOULD REINSTATE BURMESE MIGRANT WORKER WHO COMPLAINED TO LABOUR DEPARTMENT

Shouldn't Labour Department officials be making spot-checks at places of work to ensure that worker rights are being protected...and that employers are following the law. They do not generally ... but if they do, then more likely workers may get their rights reducing the risk of being terminated..discriminated against when they themselves go and make the complaint. Now, in this palace case....the Minister has assured us that he will investigate. Will they?

KUALA LUMPUR: Many foreign workers hired to build the new RM800mil Istana Negara claim they have not been paid over the last three months despite working seven days a week.

Living in fear and frustration, the workers alleged they were exploited and cheated and held to ransom by their employers because many of them do not have work permits.

There are more than 1,000 migrant workers from Indonesia, Bangladesh, Nepal and Vietnam hired by more than 130 sub-contractors who are involved in the Jalan Duta palace project.

Most of them stay in kongsi or long wooden houses near the construction site.

Eating sparingly: Workers having a meal at a stall in the kongsi during lunch time. Some claim they only have one meal a day.

According to workers interviewed by The Star, some employers threatened to call the police when they persisted in asking for their wages.

Several workers even claimed they were harassed by the police and Rela officers and that their possessions like mobile phones, cigarettes and canned drinks were confiscated.

When contacted, Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam said he would ask the Labour Department to investigate the matter and take immediate action.

Indonesian Punawi, 32, who does plastering work, said he had not been paid for five months and barely had any money left for food.

“I only manage with one meal a day and that’s because the foodstall owner allows me to eat on credit. My work permit has expired and I don’t have RM3,000 to renew it,” he added.

Jatim, 37, said their employer would hold back their wages for three to four months and they would subsequently be paid a month’s salary.

Some employers, he claimed, would extend loans of RM50 to RM100 per week to the workers, leaving them in debt.

Jatim’s wife, Salimah, 32, who lives with him at the kongsi near the construction site with their five-month-old baby, said they often lived in fear of police raids.

“Each time there is a raid, I grab my baby and run. Some of us have to spend the night in the jungle to escape the authorities.”

Brickfields OCPD Asst Comm Wan Abdul Bari Wan Abdul Khalid said the last police raid took place several months ago to flush out illegals squatting in the jungles.

“Perhaps another agency was involved in the recent raids. If the allegations are true, the workers can come and see me and I will do what I can to help,” Wan Abdul Bari said.

Bukit Aman CID Director Comm Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Zinin said police would take take stern action against the employers if the workers’ claims were found to be true.

“We will also investigate the workers’ claim that policemen roughed them up during raids,” he said.

He urged the workers to come out of hiding and lodge police reports in order for justice to be done. - Star, 27/6/2010, Migrant workers claim they’re being held to ransom by bosses

KUALA LUMPUR: Many foreign workers hired to build the RM800mil Istana Negara claim that they have not received three months’ wages from some project sub-contractors.

There are over 1,000 migrant workers hired by 130 sub-contractors working at the project site.

The Star, responding to an SOS call, visited the site in Jalan Duta and found the workers living in frustration and fear as many do not have work permits or cannot afford to renew their permits which have expired.

Foreign workers seen at the construction site of the new palace in Kuala Lumpur recently. The workers allege that they are being exploited and held to ransom by their employers because many of them do not have work permits. — SAMUEL ONG / The Star

The project’s main contractor, Maya Maju Sdn Bhd, said it is the responsibility of the sub-contractors to pay their workers.

The Human Resources Ministry has asked the Labour Department to investigate the matter and take immediate action while the police has asked the workers to come forward to lodge complaints. - Star, 27/6/2010, Foreigners hired to build palace claim they have not been paid

KUALA LUMPUR: The main contractor for the new Istana Negara project claims it is the responsibility of the sub-contractors to pay their workers.

When The Star visited Maya Maju Sdn Bhd’s site office in Jalan Duta, Kuala Lumpur, project manager Abdul Razak Mat Yunus said they paid their contractors on time and it was up to them to pay their workers.

Maya Maju’s contract is worth almost RM650mil, while the building of an elevated highway to the main entrance of the palace, awarded to Ahmad Zaki Sdn Bhd, costs RM130mil.

Abdul Razak referred the matter to the Public Works Department, adding that only the department could give an official comment on the issue.

At the PWD site office, construction manager Aidzil Adzahar Ahmad, however, said Maya Maju was responsible for the workers and the department was merely overseeing the project on behalf of the Government.

“It is their project,” he said, adding that he was unaware of workers being abused and not getting paid.

Human rights lawyer N. Surendran said these migrant workers were “tied” to their employers who would hold on to their passports.

“Such workers do not have much say or means to complain if they are not given what has been promised to them,” he said.

He said that if a worker dared to question his boss, his employment could be easily terminated and he could be sent back to his home country. The worker, he said, would have spent a lot of money to come here to work.

“Many are desperate to earn money and help their families back home. For fear of deportation, they are forced to abide by the circumstances that they are in.”

Although, the Malaysian labour law also applies to foreigners, there is always the practical problem.

“They are put in a tight situation. Lodge a complaint and the employer cracks down on you, terminates your employment and you’re sent back to your country. So there is no real protection.

“Eventually there is no one to turn to and that is why workers put up with the conditions they are in.” - Star, 27/6/2010, Firm: Workers usually paid by sub-contractors

No right for reinstatement after wrongful termination for those with fixed-term contract, who worked less than 1 year...

There has been a lot of protest about the proposed amendments to the labour law - but unfortunately not much information as to what these proposed amendments are. The Bar Council's statement gives us some idea of what these proposals are. It would be good if some one post in the said proposed amendments...MTUC website should really have this information (but apparently it is not there)

Migrant workers( and many local workers) are on fixed-term contracts....and, their right to claim reinstatement/compensation in lieu when employers terminate them wrongfully will be lost....

There is no justification for allowing employers to wrongfully dismiss workers that have worked less than a year...

Press Release

Malaysian Bar opposes proposed amendments to Labour Laws

The Malaysian Bar is concerned that the amendments being proposed to various labour laws will be detrimental to workers at large, and will give employers an unbridled hand to dismiss employees with impunity. The Bar Council is surprised that it has not been consulted about these proposals despite having had numerous dialogues with the Minister for Human Resources.

The key proposals are aimed at restricting the access of certain categories of employees to redress in the Industrial Court, and will effectively further erode the safeguards against wrongful dismissal by employers. Employees who have fixed-term contracts, have less than one year of service, earn a basic salary of RM 10,000 or more, or who are past retirement age, will be prohibited from seeking relief, such as reinstatement, back wages and/or compensation, under Section 20 of the Industrial Relations Act 1967.

There is no justification for removing the current protections for such employees. By giving employers vast powers to dismiss employees at will, the proposed amendments will be open to abuse. Employers will discriminate against vulnerable workers by reclassifying their workforce to come within these exceptions, in order to escape from their duties and obligations.

We would hasten to add that a vast majority of employers are responsible and do ensure that their employees are well taken care of. The current safeguards only apply to a very small number of employers who are taken to the Industrial Court for exploiting or victimising their employees.

The proposed reforms are wholly pro-employer and are at the expense of public interest and social responsibility. They are not significant in attracting foreign investments, as most cases filed in the Industrial Court involve local companies. The proposals will deprive several hundred employees per year of any remedy in the Industrial Court, which is the only court that can order reinstatement. The sole recourse for them will be in the civil courts, which offer very limited redress according to the terms of the employment contracts, which always favour the employers because of their stronger bargaining position.

The proposals will defeat the purpose of the current social legislation, which was introduced by Parliament to prevent exploitation, and in recognition of the imbalance in the relative bargaining position between employers and employees. They will negate the rationale for the establishment of the Industrial Court, which was to provide members of the workforce with relief from the harshness of the civil courts in relation to employment terminations.

Our labour laws cannot be reformed purely by reference to the laws of developed nations, which are strong welfare-based states that have specific benefits to cater for the needs of workers who are unemployed or have been terminated. The suggested amendments are altogether misconceived, and will sanction the statutory victimisation of employees.

The Malaysian Bar is also opposed to the proposal that human resource consultants be permitted to represent parties in the Industrial Court, as such consultants will not possess the necessary qualifications to practise in a court of law. Furthermore, they are not governed by a regulatory regime, unlike lawyers, who are bound by strict rules on ethics to govern professional conduct and are subject to disciplinary proceedings if they breach these rules. Lawyers are also covered by a mandatory professional indemnity scheme set in place to protect a client’s interest in the event of a claim of negligence against a lawyer.

Employees have far less bargaining power than employers and should be given additional protection. The proposed amendments, however, will further tip the balance of power in favour of employers. We urge the Government to make security of tenure, which is a fundamental tenet of industrial relations, the paramount consideration, and to not bow to the self-serving interests of the private sector.

Note: The Bar Council intends to organise a public forum on 24 July 2010 to seek views from stakeholders and members of the public on these amendments.

Ragunath Kesavan
President
Malaysian Bar

23 June 2010

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66 Groups:- STOP PENALIZING WORKERS WHO WANT TO GET JUSTICE - MAXTER GLOVE SHOULD REINSTATE BURMESE MIGRANT WORKER WHO COMPLAINED TO LABOUR DEPARTMENT

Media Statement – 11/6/2010

STOP PENALIZING WORKERS WHO WANT TO GET JUSTICE
- MAXTER GLOVE SHOULD REINSTATE BURMESE MIGRANT
WORKER WHO COMPLAINED TO LABOUR DEPARTMENT

We, the undersigned 66 organizations, groups and networks, concerned about migrant and worker rights, are appalled at the treatment of workers at Maxter Glove Manufacturing Sdn Bhd (229862-H), at its factory at Lot 6070, Jalan Haji Abdul Manan, 6th Miles off Jalan Meru, Klang, Selangor, Malaysia.

We are appalled at the dismissal of Thu Maung, a Burmese migrant worker, who courageously lodged a complaint at the Labour Department to claim his rights as a worker. Claiming worker rights by lodging complaints against errant employers at the Labour Department is the proper and legally recognized procedure in Malaysia. It is very wrong for employers to discriminate against and/or terminate workers who are exercising their legal rights. It is also wrong for employers to discourage and/or threaten workers from seeking justice, when worker rights are being violated.

Maxter Glove Manufacturing Sdn Bhd is a subsidiary of Supermax Corporation Berhad. Maxter Glove Manufacturing Sdn Bhd is a gloves manufacturer that makes Latex Powdered Examination gloves, Clorinated & Polymer Coated Latex Powder Free gloves, Nitrile Gloves and Sterile surgical gloves which is also exported overseas. Supermax Corporation Berhad is an established company, that according to their 2009 Annual Report made an after-tax profit of about RM126 million.

On 23rd March 2010, Thu Maung and another Burmese migrant worker from Maxter Glove Manufacturing Sdn Bhd lodged a complaint at the Subang Jaya Labour Department. Their complaints, amongst others, was that the employer:-

a. had wrongfully deducted levy, that employers have to pay when they employ migrant workers, from the worker’s wages,

b. had unlawfully deducted the medical check-up fees of RM1000 from the worker’s wages,

c. had wrongfully withheld 2 months wages,

d. had failed to provide the migrant worker with accommodation,

e. had not been giving the workers one rest day per week,

f. had made the workers work overtime(sometimes up to 13 hours per day), and also on public holidays and rest days, and had thereafter failed to pay overtime wages and wages for working on rest days and/or public holidays at the statutorily stipulated rates.

On 23rd March, Thu Maung and another had also lodged a complaint at the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM).

On 12 April 2010, Thu Maung went again to the Labour Department in Rawang and gave a detailed complaint, whereby the Rawang Labour Department did record the complaint and forward the same to the Labour Department office in Port Klang, because they said that the Port Klang Labour Office, has the requisite jurisdiction since the employer, Maxter Glove Manufacturing Sdn Bhd, is in Klang.

According to Thu Maung, after about 1 month since the lodging of the complaint at the Subang Jaya Labour office, company’s representatives started intimidating workers individually by asking them who had complained to the Labour Department, and whether they were also going to complain to the Labour Department. This form of intimidation of workers is deplorable. This kind of actions by employers has the tendency of instilling fear and preventing workers from claiming their legally recognized labour rights.

On 28 April 2010, Thu Maung’s supervisor at the company, for no reason, suddenly asked him to return the worker’s pass and not to come back to work. Thu Maung was wrongfully terminated, and he verily believes that this was done just because he had complained to the Labour Department, and was perceived as the leader of the workers who wanted to claim their rights.

It is even worse when the worker is a migrant worker, for a termination will usually mean a cancellation of the work visa, and deportation back to their home country. This also would mean that they would not be able to even pursue their claims at the Labour Department, Labour Courts, Industrial Relations Department, Industrial Courts and/or Civil Courts as the physical presence of the complainant and/or litigant is necessary for the continuation of process of claiming rights.

The practice of terminating, cancellation of work visa and immediate deportation is a blatant disregard of the laws in Malaysia that exist to protect worker rights.

Work passes in Malaysia allow workers to work only for a specific employer – and hence a termination would leave the worker with no ability to work and earn a living legally in Malaysia, while he awaits the determination of the process that may give the worker justice. Cancellation of the work pass also makes his stay in Malaysia illegal, and he risk being arrested, detained and deported.

It is sad that the current laws and practices of Malaysia, which used to employ more than 2 million migrant workers have not been amended yet to ensure that workers who claim their rights are not wrongfully terminated and sent back.

Whilst there is a clear provision in the Industrial Relations Act 1967, that is section 5, which explicitly prohibits employers (or persons acting on behalf of employers) from discriminating, threatening, dismissing or acting negatively against workers who are interested in forming, joining, and/or encouraging other workers to join trade unions, there is no similar clear provision in law protecting workers who want to claim their worker rights through the Labour Departments and other available avenues. As an example, section 5(1)(c) and (d) of the Industrial Relations Act 1967is as follows:-

(1) No employer or trade union of employers, and no person action on behalf of an employer or such trade union shall -

…. (c) discriminate against any person in regard to employment, promotion, any condition of employment or working conditions on the ground that he is or is not a member or officer of a trade union;


(d) dismiss or threaten to dismiss a workman, injure or threaten to injure him in his employment or alter or threaten to alter his position to his prejudice by reason that the workman -
(i) is or proposes to become, or seeks to persuade any other person to become, a member or officer of a trade union; or
(ii) participates in the promotion, formation or activities of a trade union; or…

There should be a similar clear provision in law that will prevent employers from harassing, threatening, discriminating and/or dismissing workers that claim their worker rights using existing avenues of complaints and remedies. The act of employers impeding, dismissing (or threathening to dismiss) workers who claim their worker rights should also be made an offence with a hefty fine. Workers should also receive a significant sum in exemplary damages, over and above their claim. Deterrence is needed to stop this unhealthy practice of employers violating worker rights, and preventing them access to justice.

In the case of Thu Maung, we call for the immediate reinstatement of Thu Maung without any loss of benefits.

We call on Dato' Seri Stanley Thai, Executive Chairman cum Group Managing Director of Supermax Corporation Berhad, to ensure that the wrong done by their subsidiary, Maxter Glove Manufacturing Sdn Bhd, to Thu Maung and other workers in the said company is ended, and that all workers are paid forthwith what has been wrongly deducted from their wages, monies that have wrongly been withheld returned, outstanding overtime payments, and that all legitimate claims are settled.

We call on the government of Malaysia to do the needful, including enacting laws that will deter employers in Malaysia from exploiting workers, and also protect workers that claim their worker rights from the negative acts of repercussion and/or ‘revenge’ by some bad employers.

We also call on the government of Malaysia to ensure that all migrant workers can continue to stay and work legally in Malaysia until their cases in the Labour Department, Labour Courts, Industrial Relations Department, Industrial Courts and/or Civil Courts, and appeals thereafter are completed.

Charles Hector
Pranom Somwong

For and on behalf of the following 66 organizations

ALIRAN, Malaysia

Alliance of Health Workers Philippines

Arakan League for Democracy (ALD-LA-MALAYSIA)

Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD)

Asian Migrant Centre (AMC)

Asian Migrants Coordinating Body-Hong Kong (AMCB)

Association of Indonesian Migrant Workers in HK (ATKI-HK)

BAYAN USA.

BOMSA, Dhaka, Bangladesh

BUGKOS

Burma Campaign, Malaysia

Burma Partnership

Canada-Philippines Solidarity for Human Rights (Vancouver, BC Canada)

Center for Japanese-Filipino Families

Clean Clothes Campaign -International Secretariat

Committee for Asian Women (CAW)

Communication Union of Australia (Vic Branch)

Empower, Chiang Mai

Filipino Migrant Center

Frank-Hubner-Scholl Resistance Movement of the White Rose

Free Burma Campaign Singapore (FBCSG)

Friends of Burma, Malaysia

Gabriela-Taiwan

IMA Research Foundation, Bangladesh

Institute for National and Democratic Studies of Indonesia (INDIES)

Interfaith Cooperation Forum

KAFIN-Migrante (Saitama)

Kafin Migrant Center, Japan

Labour Behind the Label, United Kingdom

MADPET - Malaysians against Death Penalty and Torture

Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC)

May 1st Coalition for Worker & Immigrant Rights, USA

Mekong Migration Network (MMN)

Migrante Aotearoa New Zealand

Migrante B.C. (Canada)

Migrante Denmark

Migrante Europe

Migrante International

Migrante-Middle East

Migrante Nagoya

Migrante Taiwan

Migrante UK.

Migranteng Ilonggo sa Taiwan

National League for Democracy [NLD (LA)], Malaysia

National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (NNIRR), U.S.

Network of Action for Migrants in Malaysia (NAMM)

PAN Asia and the Pacific

Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM)

Persatuan Kesedaran Komuniti Selangor (EMPOWER)

Persatuan Masyarakat Malaysia & Wilayah Persekutuan (PERMAS)

Philippines Australia Union

Philippine Society in Japan

PINAY (Filipino Women's Organization in Quebec)

Pusat Komas

Rights Jessore, India

Shan Refugee Organization, Malaysia

Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM), Malaysia

The Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM)

The Best Friend Library - Chiang Mai, Thailand

The Hong Kong Coalition for Free Burma Campaign

Think Centre Singapore

United Indonesians against Overcharging (PILAR)

United Filipinos in Hong Kong

Workers Hub for Change (WH4C)

YASANTI, Indonesia

ZOMI National Congress- Malaysia