104 Groups - Immoral for Malaysia to take from Workers to overcome national economic problems,Employers should pay the Levy – Not Migrant Workers

Joint Statement – 12/2/2016

Employers should pay the Levy – Not Migrant Workers

Immoral for Malaysia to take from Workers to overcome national economic problems

We the 104 undersigned civil society organisations, trade unions and groups are shocked by the news that the Malaysian government is increasing the migrant worker (foreign worker) levy to more than double the current rate, which since January 2013, had to be paid by the migrant workers themselves.  Prior to that, it was paid by the employer of migrant workers, whereby the introduction of the levy then was to deter employers employing migrant workers, rather than local Malaysian workers. This was also stated by the then Malaysian Labour Director-General Datuk Ismail Abdul Rahim who was quoted saying that, “…The rationale behind getting employers to bear the levy was to discourage them from employing foreigners…”  [Star, 16/4/2009]

Migrant Worker Levy Rates Drastically Increased as of 1/2/2016

The Malaysian government recently announced that, as of 1/2/2016, annual levy payable for each migrant worker is increased to RM2,500 (manufacturing, construction and service sectors) and RM1,500 (plantation and agriculture). Before this, the annual levy payable for a Migrant Worker in the Manufacturing sector (RM1,250), Construction sector (RM 1,250), Plantation sector (RM590), Agricultural sector (RM410) and Services sector (RM1,250 – RM1,850) which was so much lower.

This new rates in comparison greatly burden the migrant worker in that the annual levy payable per migrant worker will now be doubled, or even tripled. 

For example, a migrant worker in an electronic factory, classified under the manufacturing sector, who paid a levy of RM1,250 before, will now have to pay double, RM2,500. A worker earning a monthly minimum wage of RM900, which is the wage many migrants are paid, will now have to pay more than RM200 for levy, leaving them with only less than RM700 as their monthly wage, not taking into account all other wage deductions. This is most unjust.

It is unconscionable for the Malaysian government to target migrant workers in the hope of making extra income of RM2.5 billion for the country from the 2.1 million documented migrant workers in Malaysia to rescue Malaysia from its current financial woes.

Easily Exploited With Almost No Access to Justice Makes Migrant Workers Vulnerable to Employers

When Malaysia, introduced Minimum Wage, employers and employer groups complained that their labour cost had gone up, and they could not afford it. In response, the Malaysian government decided that employers no longer need to pay the migrant worker levy, thus the obligation to pay the levy fell on migrant workers themselves.

Contract substitution remains a problem. Migrant workers agree to come to work in Malaysia, but when they start working, the migrant workers complain that they are now paid lower than what they had agreed to in their country of origin with the employer and/or his agent. Many employers have also used the Minimum Wage of RM900, as the standard wages they pay migrant workers. 

Because of the debt incurred by migrant workers in coming to Malaysia to work, which is about RM5,000 and the practice of employers and/or agents holding on to their passports and work permits, migrant workers find themselves in a form of bonded labour, and not able to do anything else but just survive. 

With the very low wages, they receive; many are forced into doing overtime sometimes 4 hours per day, working on rest days and even public holidays to make ends meet. Malaysian law stipulates a draconian overtime limit of 104 hours every month. This means, in effect migrant workers can be forced to work for 12 hours a day because in many workplaces doing overtime is no longer an option that workers can refuse. As such, migrant workers and even local workers can be considered to be engaged in some form of ‘forced labour’.

For migrant workers, access to justice remains a myth for many. When they complain about rights violations, what happens in many cases is that they are terminated, and their permit to work and/or remain in Malaysia is also terminated. This causes migrant workers to be easily controlled and exploited cheaply. They do not even have the option to claim justice.

Employers Contribute Less to Migrant Workers Income

Under the Malaysian law, employers are required to contribute 13% of the monthly income, inclusive of overtime earnings, to the Employees Provident Fund, this requirement is not applicable to the migrant workers. This makes migrant workers cheaper.

Further, since many employers do not take in migrant workers directly as their own employees, but take and use them as workers who are supplied by the labour suppliers - legally known as the contractors for labour - it effectively prevents these supplied migrant workers the right to join in-house trade unions. Even if they do join national/regional unions, they simply will not be able to enjoy the extra rights and benefits that come by reason of a Collective Bargaining Agreement between Union and Employer, simply by reason that they are not recognised as employees. Calls for the abolition of the ‘contractor for labour system’ by trade unions and civil society have gone unheeded by the government. 

Malaysia recognizes that households earning less than RM4,000 a month requires financial assistance, and local workers do get a small assistance from the government through the BR1M program – but migrant workers are excluded from this benefit.

Weakening Ringgit Causes Migrants to earn 20-40% less.

Whilst, the financial problems Malaysia is facing, coupled with the increased cost of living - new taxes, increased transportation costs, and the weakening of the Malaysian Ringgit in relation to currency of the country of origins of migrants – it is the migrant worker who suffers the most. 

The weakening ringgit also means that the money migrant workers send back home to their families is now much less and this has a serious impact on their families/dependents and the ability to settle their debts back home. It was recently reported, that "For instance, employees from Bangladesh used to make 44 taka for every RM1, but now it is about 17 taka. The drop is very drastic, more than 40%."Even the ringgit to the Indonesian rupiah has seen a drop in value by 20%," (Malaysian Insider, 5/2/2016)

Unjust to impose New Financial Obligations On Migrant Workers Already In Malaysia

It is totally unjust for Malaysia to impose new financial obligations by law on migrant workers, which did not exist when they agreed with their employers to come and work in Malaysia for 3-5 years. Any new obligations especially of payment by migrant workers should only apply to new migrant workers who have yet to agree to come to Malaysia to work – certainly not to those who are already here and working.

The Malaysian Trade Union Congress(MTUC) and employer groups have been informed that employers will now have to  pay migrant worker levy. This was also mentioned in a media report, which stated, ‘The FMM[Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers] said the government recently informed employers that the levy burden would be shifted back to them. (Star, 2/2/2016).

However, employer groups have started a campaign lobbying the Malaysian government to re-consider, and 
the Malaysian government has been reported as saying that they may re-consider. There is concern that this re-consideration may not just be about the amount of levy payable, but also the question as to who will have to pay the levy – migrant workers or their employer?

Therefore, we the undersigned

Call on the Malaysian government in the name of justice, to ensure that it must be the employers of migrant workers that should be paying this Migrant Worker levy – not the migrant workers;

Call on the Malaysian government to also reconsider the increase of the levy rate, at this time whilst Malaysia, and especially small Malaysian businesses, are affected by the economic crisis and the effect of the falling Malaysian ringgit.

Call on the Malaysian government to increase the Minimum Wage of all workers in Malaysia to RM1,200 – RM1,500, to compensate for the increased cost of living in Malaysia, and the falling value of the Malaysian ringgit with  reference to the currency in migrant worker’s countries of origin. 

Call on the Malaysian government to abolish the ‘contractor for labour’ system, and ensure that all workers that are working in a workplace are all recognised employees of the said workplace, and are treated equally as workers.

Charles Hector

Mohd Roszeli bin Majid

Pranom Somwong

For and on behalf of the 104 organisations, trade unions and groups listed below 

ALIRAN

Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (ALTSEAN-Burma)

Asia Monitor Resource Centre(AMRC)

Asia Floor Wage Alliance

Asia Pacific Forum on Women Law and Development (APWLD)

Association of Human Rights Defenders and Promoters- Myanmar

Asociación de trabajadoras del Hogar a Domicilio y de Maquila, ATRAHDOM, Guatemala, Centro Amercia. 

Bangladesh Groep Nederland (Bangladesh Group The Netherlands)

Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies- BILS

BLAST,  Bangladesh

Boat People SOS (BPSOS)

Building and Wood Workers International (BWI) Asia Pacific Region

Campagna Abiti Puliti – Italy

CARAM Asia

Clean Clothes Campaign International Office(CCC)

Club Employees Union Peninsular Malaysia(CEUPM)

Coalition to Abolish Modern-day Slavery in Asia (CAMSA)

Crispin B. Beltran Resource Center (CBBRC),Philippines

CWI Malaysia (Committee for Workers International)

Defend Job Philippines

Fair – Italy

FAIR ACTION, Sweden

Foundation For Women, Thailand 

Garment and Allied Workers Union, India

German Clean Clothes Campaign

Homeworkers Worldwide, United Kingdom

IDEAL (Institute for Development of Alternative Living）

IndustriALL Bangladesh Council (IBC)

Institut Rakyat

International Labor Rights Forum

Jaringan Rakyat Tertindas (JERIT)

Jatio Shromik Federation (JSF), Bangladesh

Karmojibi Nari (KN), Bangladesh

Kesatuan Pekerja-Pekerja Perodua

Kesatuan Sekerja Industri Elektronik Wilayah Selatan, Semenanjung Malaysia (KSIEWSSM)

Knowledge and Rights with Young people through Safer Spaces (KRYSS)

Labour Behind the Label

Labour Studies and Action Centre (CEREAL), Mexico

Legal support for Children and Women (LSCW), Cambodia

MADPET (Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture)

Malaysian Election Observers Network

Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC)

MAP Foundation (Thailand)

MHS Aviation Employees Union

Migrante International

Mission for Migrant Workers

Myanmar Migrants Rights Centre

NAMM (Network of Action for Migrants in Malaysia)

National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF), Bangladesh

National Union Employees in Companies Manufacturing Rubber Products (NUECMRP)

National Union of Transport Equipment & Allied Industries Workers (NUTEAW), Malaysia

NLD LA Malaysia

North South Initiative

Oriental Hearts and Mind Study Institute(OHMSI)

Panggau Sarawak

Paper Products Manufacturing Employees’ Union of Malaysia (PPMEU)

Parti Rakyat Malaysia(PRM)

Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM)

Pax Romana ICMICA

Peoples Service Organisation (PSO)

Persatuan Sahabat Wanita Selangor (PSWS)

Pertubuhan Angkatan Bahaman, Temerloh, Pahang, Malaysia

PROHAM -Persatuan Promosi Hak Asasi Manusia

Radanar Ayar Rural Development Association, Myanmar

Repórter Brasil

Safety and Rights Society, Bangladesh

Sahabat Rakyat

Schone Kleren Campagne (CCC Netherlands)

SEA Women's Caucus on ASEAN

Solidarity of Cavite Workers (SCW), Philippines

Sramik Nirapotta Forum, Bangladesh

SUARAM

Tenaga National Berhad Junior Officers Union (TNBJOU)

TENAGANITA Women’s Force, Malaysia

Textile Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia

The Collectif Ethique sur létiquette, Clean Clothes Campaign French

Think Centre, Singapore

UNI Global Union

War on Want

WARBE Development Foundation, Bangladesh

WH4C (Workers Hub For Change)

Women Peace Network-Arakan, Myanmar

Women Rehabilitation Center (WOREC), Nepal

Workers Assistance Center, Inc (WAC) , Philippines

Vietnamese Women for Human Rights

Yaung Chi Oo Workers Association-YCOWA

Yayasan Lintas Nusa, Indonesia

IMA Research Foundation, Bangladesh

International Trade Union Confederation(ITUC)

Women's Aid Organisation(WAO), Malaysia

PINAY (The Filipino Women's Organization in Quebec), Canada

Cividep India

Kesatuan Sekerja Industri Elektronik Wilayah Utara Semenanjung Malaysia

Centro Nuovo Modello di Sviluppo – Italy

National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia (NUFAM)

Pusat KOMAS

Perak Women for Women Society (PWW)

Asian Migrant Centre

Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights (CENTRAL)-Cambodia

Labour Education and Service Network

Mekong Migration Network(MMN)

Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), Philippines

MARUAH, Singapore

Center for Migrant Advocacy (CMA) Philippines

 

Media coverage:- 

Employers should pay foreign worker levy, say civil society groups (Malaysian Insider)

'IMMORAL' MALAYSIA GETS A TICKING OFF: Bosses should pay the levy – NOT the migrant workers (Malaysia Chronicle, 13/2/2016))

Employers should pay the levy, not migrant workers (Malaysiakini, 12/2/2016)

 

The said Joint Statement was send to the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Minister of Human Resources, Minister of Home Affair (who is in charge of the Immigration Department), Opposition Leader in Parliament and SUHAKAM(Malaysia's Human Rights Commission). The emailed copy can be seen at ...

101 Groups Letter to PM Najib - Employers should pay the Levy – Not Migrant Workers , Immoral for Malaysia to take from Workers to overcome national economic problems

 

 

 

17 venues of MTUC protest 0n 3/11/2011 to show discontent over amendments to Employment Act

The protest will take place tomorrow(3/11/2011) from 5pm to 6.30pm at the following locations in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor: Jalan Raja Laut; Jalan Barat (Petaling Jaya); Rawang (near Perodua); Shah Alam (near Proton); Seksyen 15 (Shah Alam); Bukit Raja; Teluk Panglima Garang (Banting).

Other locations are: MTUC Building, Ipoh, Perak; Jalan Perai, Penang (near the Prai industrial estate); Kedah; Jalan Ayer Keroh, Malacca.

Seremban, Negeri Sembilan; Jalan Sekudai, Johor Baru, Johor; Kota Baru, Kelantan (in front of the Federal Building); Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu (field near Pantai Batu Buruk); Kuantan, Pahang (field in front of Pahang State Mosque).

It will be held at the Sultan Iskandar Building in Kuching, Sarawak, and the Tang Shopping Complex in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

MTUC protest tomorrow

17 venues picked to show discontent over amendments to Employment Act

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011 10:32:00

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) will carry out its nationwide protest tomorrow to ensure its discontent with amendments made to the Employment Act is heard.

MTUC secretary-general Abdul Halim Mansor told The Malay Mail yesterday the protest would be held at various locations nationwide and that police had been informed.

“We are the workers' umbrella. We have no political agenda but are only voicing our concern and unhappiness with amendments made to the Employment Act," he said.

"Our dispute is not with our employers but in taking away our rights as workers through the amendments.

“We have informed the police, including the IGP and State police chiefs, on the locations and time of our protest. It will be peaceful and we will deploye our officers to ensure the discipline."

Earlier this week, Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam said the protest was illegal as it did not fall into the context of dispute between employers and employees.

To this, Abdul Halim said: “The question of whether this protest is halal or haram should not even be made."

MTUC expects a turnup of 500 of its members at each of the 17 locations throughout the country to protest against the amendments to the Act.

Abdul Halim said he did not think there would be any problem with the police as "they have always been supportive” of MTUC.

On whether the protest would affect rush-hour traffic, he said the MTUC officers at each location would maintain discipline. He also hoped police would help with the traffic flow and ensure safety of protesters.

The MTUC's main complaint against the amendments is its belief it is "a return to slavery" and that investors will only hire Malaysians as contract workers instead of permanent staff.

On the other hand, the Human Resource Ministry insisted the amendments protect the rights of workers.

MTUC is an umbrella body comprising 390 of the 692 labour unions nationwide has a total of 802,323 members.

The amendments to the Act were approved by Parliament on Oct 6.

The protest will take place tomorrow from 5pm to 6.30pm at the following locations in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor: Jalan Raja Laut; Jalan Barat (Petaling Jaya); Rawang (near Perodua); Shah Alam (near Proton); Seksyen 15 (Shah Alam); Bukit Raja; Teluk Panglima Garang (Banting).

Other locations are: MTUC Building, Ipoh, Perak; Jalan Perai, Penang (near the Prai industrial estate); Kedah; Jalan Ayer Keroh, Malacca.

Seremban, Negeri Sembilan; Jalan Sekudai, Johor Baru, Johor; Kota Baru, Kelantan (in front of the Federal Building); Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu (field near Pantai Batu Buruk); Kuantan, Pahang (field in front of Pahang State Mosque).

It will be held at the Sultan Iskandar Building in Kuching, Sarawak, and the Tang Shopping Complex in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. - Malay Mail, 2/11/2011, MTUC protest tomorrow

Don’t legalize discrimination at work place (Free Malaysia Today, 28/10/2011)

Don’t legalize discrimination at work place

Teoh El Sen | October 28, 2011

Civil rights groups here and overseas want the Malaysian government to withdraw 'unjust' amendments to the Employment Act 1955

PETALING JAYA: More than a 100 civil society groups locally and abroad have called for the government to withdraw ‘unjust’ amendments to the Employment Act 1955, ahead of a nationwide Malaysian Trade Union Congress(MTUC) picket on the same issue next week.

In a joint press statement 107 civil society groups expressed concern over the government’s actions to “speedily” table and passed the the Employment (Amendment) Bill 2011 on Oct 6 at the Dewan Rakyat, despite protests from various groups against it.

“The proposed changes to the Employment Act would be most detrimental to worker rights, trade unions and the existing just direct two-party employment relationship between worker and end-user (the principal),” said the group, which included the International Trade Union

Confederation (ITUC), representing 175 million workers in 153 countries and territories and has 308 national affiliates.

A spokesman for the group Charles Hector said: “Malaysia’s action goes contrary to justice.

“In many countries employers have been wrongly trying to avoid/disguise employment relationships by way of contracts/agreements and triangular relationships, and Malaysia rather than fighting against this negative trend is now trying to legalize it, hence showing itself to be anti-worker anti-unions.”

The groups noted that the amendments went against the Federal Constitution, which guaranteed equality of persons, as it would result in “discrimination at the workplace”.

“Workers doing the same work at the factory, would be treated differently in terms of wages, work benefits and even rights by reason of the fact that their employers are different,” said the statement.

The statement stressed that workers in the same workplace should be treated equality— in terms of wages, work benefits, rights, union rights, and so on.

‘Destroying’ ties

The civil groups also said the proposed amendments would also “destroy” direct employment relationships between owner-operator of workplaces.

“A just employment relationship dictates that all workers should be employees of the owner-operator employer not some other third party labour supplier, whether they be known as ‘contractor for labour’, outsourcing agent or by any other name.”

It stressed that such a “relationship” must be a direct relationship, and should exclude all third parties.

“The availability of short-term employment contracts is another reason why there is no need to legalize triangular or other employment relationships in Malaysia through the creation of the ‘contractor for labour’ (system),” it added.

If the amendments become law, then workers would also lose their rights to form or be members of the trade union at the workplace.

This will subsequently affect their right to directly and effectively negotiate with the principal who effectively controls the work place, working conditions and benefits.

‘Union busting’ policy

This would also weaken existing workers and unions, by reducing their negotiating power, and in turn make workers’ struggle better rights wll become “almost impossible”.

“This proposed amendment is a ‘union busting’ exercises and allows employers to utilize ‘divide and rule’ tactics to counter legitimate demands of their workers and avoid employer obligations and responsibilities,” said the groups.

The groups also said the amendments further made unjustifiable changes to delay in overtime payment and work on rest days, as well as issues regarding sexual harrassment.

“With regard to sexual harassment, the new provision provides only for inquiry by an employer even when the alleged perpetrator is a member of the management, a partner, shareholder and/or director of the employer’s business, and provides no clear right of appeal to the Labour Courts or the High Court.”

“Remedy for the victim of sexual harassment is also absent, save maybe the right to resign without the need to give the required notice when the perpetrator is a sole proprietor.”

Discontinue policy

Currently, worker rights violations are all dealt with by the “definitely more independent” Labour Department or Industrial Relations Department.

“We call on Malaysia to immediately discontinue its policy of recognizing outsourcing agents, and act immediately against practices of some employers and outsourcing agents that try to avoid or disguise employment relationships to the detriment of workers and unions,” said the statement.

The proposed Bill still needs to be passed by the Senate and receive royal assent, before it becomes law.

“We call on the Malaysian government to act in the best interest of workers and their unions and immediately withdraw this unjust proposed amendments to Employment Act 1955.”

It said that the country currently has the Private Employment Agencies Act 1971, whereby these agencies rightfully get workers for employers, who then pay them a fee for the service, and once workers are received by the employer, these workers immediately become employees of the said employer.

“The amendments will create a new kind of labour supply company who will continue as employers of the workers even after they start working at the workplace of the principal, and this is unacceptable,” said the statement.

It also explained that all companies in the business of finding workers for companies must never assume or retain the role of employers.

The groups also called on countries and regional bodies, companies, International Labour Organisation (ILO), trade unions and persons to “do the needful to ensure that worker and union rights, not just of local but also migrant workers, are protected in Malaysia” - Free Malaysia Today, 28/10/2011,Don’t legalize discrimination at work place

** For the full statement see:- 107 Groups: Malaysia Must Protect Worker and Union Rights, and withdraw proposed unjust amendments to Employment Act - Labour Suppliers Should Not Be Employers (28/10/2011)

$3.2m lawsuit for defending Burmese migrants (DVB, 16/2/2011)

Democratic Voice of Burma, 16/2/2011, $3.2m lawsuit for defending Burmese migrants

Lawyer Charles Hector, who is facing a $3.2 million lawsuit (WH4C)

By JOSEPH ALLCHIN
Published: 16 February 2011

A Malaysia-based Japanese multinational is lining up a multi-million dollar defamation lawsuit against a lawyer who is defending a group of Burmese workers threatened with deportation.

Electrical components’ company Asahi Kosei has denied allegations lodged by lawyer Charles Hector that it attempted to deport two workers back to Burma. The two men are among 31 who complained that their employers at the company had broken contractual obligations, including a refusal to pay the agreed salary.

Hector, who is defending the 31, went public with the allegations after receiving no response to a letter sent to Asahi Kosehi on behalf of the workers. He mustered the support of some 77 organisations in multiple countries who composed a media statement on the 11 February, as well as writing a post on his blog. It was after this that Asahi Kosei responded with their MYR10 million ($US3.27 million) legal threat.

“The attempt to go against human rights defenders personally is an attempt to suppress the public interest function that human rights activists play in highlighting violations of human rights visited on marginalised people by the bigger, more powerful employer companies,” said Pranom Somwong of the Workers Hub for Change (WH4C).

According to Malaysian government statistics, there are close to 100,000 registered Burmese workers in the country, comprising some five percent of the total registered workers. Rights group say however that hundreds of thousands additional migrants from Burma are unregistered. Given the sketchy legal status of many, violations of labour rights are believed to be common.

The situation between the 31 Burmese and their employers turned nasty on 7 February, a week after they filed their complaints, when a mob escorted by police arrived at their hostel in the Balakong township of Selangor, Malaysia, and threatened them. The mob then cut the electrics and walked off with household appliances, such as the hostel’s television and cooking utensils.

Mirroring a recent incident in Johor in Malaysia, the police allegedly nabbed two of the workers’ leaders, Thiha Soe and Aung San. They believed they were being taken to Kuala Lumpur International Airport, WH4C says, but managed to escape.

The following day the workers submitted a complaint to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) and were preparing a complaint for the labour ministry when on 9 February they were given a new contract to sign. Accompanying the contract however was an ultimatum that if they refused to sign, they would be deported to Burma immediately.

Twenty-nine of the workers signed under pressure but Thiha Soe and Aung San refused. They were then separated and handed over to the recruitment agents who took them to unknown locations, possibly with a view to sending them back to Burma.

Asahi Kosei makes parts for a number of international brands, such as JVC, Seiko, Hitachi, Mitsubiushi, Philips and Sharp. It has denied all allegations, and told Hector that it had made all payments to the recruitment agents, thereby passing the blame onto them. But a subsequent letter sent by the veteran lawyer to the company was ignored, prompting him to go public with the case.

“The fact of the matter is that workers in a company should be the responsibility of the said company, and they cannot just avoid responsibility by saying that these are not their own workers but workers of some other company,” said Pranom.

Related post:-

Asahi Kosei threathens legal action against Charles Hector

Asia-Japan Women's Resource Center (AJWRC) makes it 82 - Asahi Kosei statement

Burmese migrant workers: caught between a tyrant and a tiger (Guardian, 24/1/2011) - Sinometal(5)

Burmese migrant workers: caught between a tyrant and a tiger

Malaysia's economic boom has been driven by the exploitation of cheap migrant labour, from Burma and Thailand. Underpaid and with no rights, this is their story

Malaysia's economic boom has been fuelled by cheap foreign labour. Photograph: Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images

They were not illegal, nor criminals, not protesting nor agitating. For 900 Malaysian ringgits (around $290) a month they had travelled, through a broker, to the southern Malaysian town of Johor. There to bend the metal, mould the bars and solder the nuts that will bolt together the terrific rise in Asia's economies.

However the 35 Burmese workers found that, after two months, instead of the promised amount, they were to receive 640 a month, with no overtime pay, as promised.

So the workers organised, led by five individuals. They initially complained to their employers.

The employers immediately called the police, all 35 were detained on 12 January. No charges were brought, and 30 were released that day.

"Whenever workers do actually complain to their employers or against [them], employers tend to discriminate against them or even terminate [their contracts]," says pioneering Malaysian human rights lawyer, Charles Hector.

Before any legal rationale could be brought, or advocates or government bodies mobilised, the five leaders were whisked away to the airport for deportation, because, as Hector notes, "the employer wins by default if they are deported", they cannot compete in a labour dispute, and migrant workers are not allowed to be members of a union or stay in Malaysia without employment.

Out of the five leaders who complained, three have been forced back to Burma despite signing a three-year contract, two, however are missing.

Malaysia's growing "tiger economy", is driven by a workforce of around 20% migrant labour, with an estimated 500,000 from Burma, many of them illegal, taking their place at the bottom of Malaysia's semi-apartheid ethnic mix.

With GDP per capita hard to record in Burma, the IMF estimated in January 2009 that it was around $250. This compares with the IMF's 2010 estimate for Malaysia of $7,775.

Despite a constitution and laws pertaining to universal rights in Malaysia, law enforcement and other political precedence places migrant workers at immediate disadvantage. All companies in Malaysia that hire foreign labour are required to pay a levy. This is very often deducted from workers' pay, even though the practice was made illegal in April 2009.

Tun Tun, head of Burma Campaign Malaysia, notes that the overwhelming ethos is for employers to take responsibility for their workers as opposed to the workers having rights as individuals. He points out that when you arrive in Malaysia as a tourist, you need no visa and can rapidly leave the airport. However, migrant workers have to wait for their employer to pick them up and take them, in custodial fashion, to wherever they please.

Not all Burmese are just economic migrants. Many of those who eke out a living between the concrete apartment buildings and highways of Kuala Lumpur have fled political oppression in their homeland.

Kyaw Hsan was jailed in Burma at the age of 15. His "crime" was distributing pamphlets about democracy, with news and information that circumvented Burma's draconian military censors. He would leave pamphlets on the roof of a bus, so as it drove through the streets of Rangoon they would flutter down, as innocently as freshly falling rain. He was picked up outside a meeting of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy on 16 September 2000.

His confinement was marked with weeks of torture, including night-long beatings by teams of guards. This was followed, in 2003, by periods of up to 32 days chained to a wet floor with dozens of other prisoners for protesting the rearrest of Aung San Suu Kyi.

He contracted tuberculosis, which quarantined him for a further year after his release from Rangoon's colonial-era Insein jail.

Beyond the scars marking his body, and despite his affable nature, the psychological toll is unmistakable. At the time of writing, a combination of dislocation, alcohol and the breakdown of a relationship had led to angry outbursts, which saw him lose his job as a waiter.

In exile

The isolation is palpable in divided Kuala Lumpur. On a busy rush hour Kyaw Hsan intervenes to protect a young Burmese who has been set upon by up to a dozen Malays. They beat him and take his phone, but he mistrusts the police so much that a foreign escort to the station to report it is deemed necessary.

Ko Harun, meanwhile, has weathered exile for longer. He fled his native Burma because of thediscrimination faced by the Rohingya minority. The Rohingya, he estimates along with many observers, are the most oppressed minority in Burma; despite having been in the country for about 1,000 years, they are denied citizenship rights.

Since he left Burma he has been arrested four times in Thailand and five times in Malaysia. In Thailand he says he was caged up with gang members who would violently steal his rations.

He has been "sold" to traffickers by Thai officials, after being handed over by Malaysian authorities. He was lucky enough to be able to borrow the fee to remove himself from bondage.

Conditions in Malaysian jails are horrendous, causing what the Malaysian press call riots but are actually hunger strikes or peaceful protests, complaining about the overcrowding, the constant outbreaks of leptospirosis, a disease caused spread through urine-contaminated water, or simply the length of detention.

The two missing worker leaders have not been heard from. Like an estimated 190,000 other Burmese in Malaysia, they are at the mercy of a divided, hungry nation.

• Joseph Allchin is a journalist with the exiled Burmese news network the Democratic Voice of Burma.

Source: guardian.co.uk, 24/1/2011, Burmese migrant workers: caught between a tyrant and a tiger

See also earlier posts:-

35 migrant workers arrested in Senai, Johor when they try to claim their rights from employer

Sinometal Case Update: 5 Migrant Workers being send to KLIA possibly to be send back to Burma

Sinometal Case Update(2): 2 Migrant Workers escape employer's attempts to send them back to Burma

Sinometal Case Update(3): 27 Workers Win, 3 send back to Burma, 5 still missing...

About Sinometal (4) :- Migrants missing after rights case (DVB, 19/1/2011)