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

'Riot' at Ajil Detention Centre for Undocumented Migrants - Independent Inquiry/Investigation Needed

Why it the cause of this 'trouble' at yet another of Malaysia's Detention Centre for undocumented migrants? (Just last July, we remember that was some 'trouble' at another detention centre - the Semenyih Detention Centre)

Were the detainees protesting inadequate healthcare, poor food & living conditions,....?

Were they protesting torture by camp authorities?

The newspaper report labels it a 'riot' - but this is most likely based on information obtained from the camp authorities. What do the detained migrants say? [Israel said that they used violence and killed persons in that humanitarian flotilla because they were really 'terrorists' with arms who attacked the Israeli soldiers, and that the soldiers opened fire in defence. Later, we hear from the victims a totally different story.)

Likewise, we need to have an independent investigation....to get to the truth. Media should also be trying to get information from the undocumented migrants (and maybe even some asylum seekers, refugees and documented persons who are being detained there). Maybe even, some Malaysians... [see earlier posts:-Pregnant Malaysian mum wrongfully detained in Migrant Detention Centre for 11+ months ,

Press Release: EMPLOYER HOLDS PASSPORT PUTTING WORKER AT RISK,

126 groups:- Death of 2 Burmese Indicative of State of Detention Places in Malaysia - Denial of Healthcare Is a Violation of Right to Life

LEPTOSPIROSIS CAUSES DEATH OF ANOTHER 6 BURMESE IN DETENTION IN MALAYSIA DENIAL OF HEALTHCARE IS A VIOLATION OF RIGHT TO LIFE

Hopefully, the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM) has already visited this Detention Centre, and commenced their own investigation. Or is SUHAKAM waiting for a formal complaint? There must be no cover-up, and the real reason for the said 'riot'/protest must be disclosed to the public

KUALA BERANG: Some 200 illegal immigrants from Vietnam and Myanmar went on a riot at the Ajil detention camp late last night.

It is believed that the immigrants had tried to torch the main administration building at the camp at around 9.15pm, sparking a melee.

It is also learnt that several of the immigrants were also injured during the incident and had been warded at the Hulu Terengganu Hospital.

Smoke from the detention camp could be seen some distance away from the town.

Several teams of Federal Reserve Unit personnel in anti-riot gear were also rushed to the scene to quell the riot from their headquarters in Kuala Terengganu.

Three fire engines from the Hulu Terengganu and Kuala Terengganu Fire and Rescue Department also rushed to the scene and managed to bring the fire under control in 10 minutes.

Ambulances were also seen entering the premise and ferrying out the injured. The detainees were believed to have used newspaper and other combustible materials to set the camp on fire.

It is not known however if the authorities had used tear gas to quell the riots but at press time, the area was still being condorned off and the police were still manning roadblocks on the road leading towards the camp.

As at press time, no reason had been given for the riot and police officers were seen at the site still negotiating with the group inside.

Stall owners near the detention centre had also been advised by Immigration authorities to immediately clear the area for fear of the riot spilling over onto the streets.

In 2005, 131 Thai Muslims who were seeking temporary shelter from unrest in Southern Thailand were housed in Ajil camp.

While on July 1 last year, 700 Myanmar illegals had caused a ruckus at Semenyih camp.- Star, 6/6/2010, 200 illegal immigrants stage riot at Ajil detention camp

In the last 'riot' in July 2009, the riot started allegedly when the camp authorities started beating some of detainees...

Eight Burmese detainees were wounded after a small riot broke out at the Semenyih Immigration camp near Kajang Township, in Malaysia on Wednesday.

Speaking clandestinely to The Irrawaddy on Thursday, one of the detainees involved in the riot at the camp said the trouble started at 8pm after camp authorities beat 30 detainees who were refusing to board a truck that was to take them to another camp.

The detainees began breaking up the walls of their rooms and throwing plates at security officers, demanding prison authorities release the 30 people who had been loaded onto the truck.

The police used tear gas to break up the riot.

“We are very angry after we heard they had beaten and forced fellow prisoners to get on a truck and be moved another camp. When they came for them they said it was only to meet officials from the UNHCR [United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees],” he said.

The detainee was in hiding as he talked to The Irrawaddy by phone from the camp. Camp authorities ban the use of mobile phones.

“On Tuesday, two Burmese detainees were also seriously beaten when they went to the clinic to ask for medicine. One detainee was beaten around the eyes,” the detainee said.

“We don’t know if he will regain his vision because his eyes are filled with blood. At the moment he can’t see,” he said. “The other detainee suffered cigarette burns on his body and is in serious condition now.”

Yante Ismail, a spokesperson for the UNHCR based in Kuala Lumpur told The Irrawaddy, Thursday, that a group from UNHCR left for the camp that morning to investigate the riot.

She said that she was unable to provide any further details on what happened at the camp.
The Malaysian National News Agency announced on their Bernama website that no one was injured during the riot and that the situation was under control.

According to Burmese rights groups in Malaysia, there are about 700 Burmese detainees at the Semenyih Immigration camp. They are accusing camp authorities of keeping people who have already served sentences in detention.

Roi Mon, a member of the Mon Refugees Organization based in Malaysia, said that inmates do not have enough food and water, and the camp is crowded because the authorities have refused to release detainees.

Meanwhile, in its annual Trafficking in Persons Report 2009 released in June, the US State Department put Malaysia back on the Tier 3 blacklist for its record of abuse and exploitation of migrant workers. Malaysia joins 16 other countries including Burma, North Korea, Sudan and Zimbabwe on the blacklist.

The report accused Malaysia authorities of deporting Burmese detainees to the Thai-Malaysia border and selling them to human traffickers, who then demanded ransoms for their release.

If payments were not made, the victims would be forced to work as slave labor on fishing boats in Thailand and Indonesia, and women could be forced to work as prostitutes in brothels.

Malaysian authorities have disputed the report’s conclusions.

According to the Kuala Lumpur-based Burma Workers’ Rights Protection Committee, about 500,000 Burmese migrants work in Malaysia, legally and illegally. - Irrawady, 2/7/2009, Burmese Injured in Malaysian Camp Riots

The relocation of Burmese refugees in Malaysia could lead to worse human rights abuses as they would be isolated from outside world, rights advocacy groups in Malaysia said.

According to the rights groups, the Malaysia immigration authorities moved 598 Burmese refugees including women and children who were detained at Semenyih Immigration camp near Malaysia’s Kajang Township on Friday.

The move was likely due to the Malaysia authorities wanting to isolate the refugees from the outside world, while other sources said it was due to the riot between Burmese refugees and Malaysia camp authorities on July 1.

The riot broke out after camp authorities beat 30 detainees who were refusing to board a truck that was to take them to another camp. Eight Burmese detainees were wounded in the riot.

Aung Naing Thu, general secretary of the Malaysia-based rights advocacy group known as the Burma Youth of Nationalists Association said, “Now the Burmese refugees have been relocated to other places, they will be isolated, and the authorities will be able to do whatever the want, even torture them.”

Forty-eight out of more then 600 Burmese refugees who were detained in Semenyih detention camp were released on Monday, but 598 of them remained. Many of the remaining refugees are undocumented, said rights groups.

The released detainees said there had been many human rights abuses while they were in the camp. Months-old children and women and pregnant women were the most vulnerable, as the meals distributed in the detention camp lack nutrition, they said.

Thant Zin, a Burmese refugee who was released on Monday, said that only ten sick people are allowed to receive medical treatment per week.

“Many people who feel sick in the camp go without medical treatment. They are not allowed to see doctors,” said Thant Zin.

“The drinking water and the water used in the toilet come from the same source,” he added.

“If they find communication materials such as mobile phones, they brutally beat you,” said Thant Zin.

Immigration authorities regularly beat the detained Burmese refugees during inspections. Last week, two Burmese detainees were seriously beaten when they went to the clinic to ask for medicine.

One detainee was beaten around the eyes till they filled with blood and he became unable to see. The other detainee suffered from cigarette burns on his body and was said to be in serious condition.

A delegation from the United Nations High Commissioners for Refugees in Malaysia is now investigating the riot, according to Yante Ismail, a spokesperson for the UNHCR, in Kuala Lumpur.

There are 22 detention camps in Malaysia, some of which are located in isolated areas on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. Some refugees have spent years in the detention camps.

About 500,000 Burmese migrants work in Malaysia, legally and illegally, according to the Kuala Lumpur-based Burma Workers’ Rights Protection Committee.- Irrawady, 11/7/2009, Burmese Detainees in Danger,

34,923 whippings were carried out for immigration offences between 2002 and 2008.

KUALA LUMPUR: Stop whipping illegal immigrants as a form of punishment, Amnesty International urged Malaysia.

It also criticised attempts by the Government to muzzle freedom of expression.

Under Malaysian law, those staying in the country illegally are subject to a mandatory six lashes of the cane, fines and up to five years in jail.

“Degrading methods of punishment such as whipping should cease immediately if Malaysia has accepted to uphold the protection of human dignity,” said Nora Murat, Amnesty’s Malaysia executive director.

The whipping sentence was added to Malaysian immigration laws in 2002 amid concern over the ramifications of having a large migrant workforce.

In the Malaysia chapter of its 2010 human rights annual report released on Thursday, the London-based group said 34,923 whippings were carried out for immigration offences between 2002 and 2008.

Malaysia, South-East Asia’s third-largest economy, has 2.2 million migrant workers, who are the mainstay of the plantation and manufacturing sectors.

Amnesty also criticised the Government for attempting to silence bloggers with the threat of jail sentences, and breaking up peaceful protests.

“Even a silent candlelight vigil was condemned (by the Govern­ment), with protesters arrested, thus denying the public the right to peaceful assembly,” Nora said. — AFP - Star, 29/5/2010, Stop whipping illegals, Amnesty tells Malaysia

Advance Domestic Worker Rights: Recognise Their Right to Collective Representation

For your endorsement,

In solidarity

Pranom Somowng




Dear Friends,


In the lead up to our advocacy at the International Labour Conference in Geneva this June, APWLD on behalf of UFDWR would like to draw your attention to our statement calling for the Advancement of Domestic Worker Rights and specifically the Recognition of Domestic Worker Rights to Organise.


Please read the statement below (also attached) and click on this link to endorse the statement on behalf of your organisation. Endorsements will be collected until Friday May 21st.




CLICK HERE TO ENDORSE THE STATEMENT ;

http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dGZrVWM2LTlpTHZOZVh2Q3lZQUZOQVE6MQ


(This will take less than 30 seconds to complete)

Thank you for your time. We hope that through our collective action we can ensure the International Labour Conference results in an instrument that protects and promotes the right of domestic workers to collectively organise. Without your help in achieving this right, all others are unachievable.



In Solidarity,




UFDWR


Advance Domestic Worker Rights:


Recognise Their Right to Collective Representation



The rights to organise, to collectively bargain, to form and join unions and to select representatives of one’s own choosing are fundamental human rights, claimed by workers as long ago as 1948. These ‘freedom of association’ rights allow workers to realise other rights including; decent work, health and safety, fair wages, fair working hours, fair conditions and freedom from abuse and intimidation. The International Labour Conference (ILC) must result in an instrument(s) that protects and promotes the right of domestic workers to collectively organise. Without that right, all others are unachievable.



APWLD, on behalf of the United for Foreign Domestic Worker Rights (UFDWR) coalition, conducted a review of laws in ten sending and receiving countries in Asia . The review found that, in summary,[1] labour laws of most countries do not recognise domestic workers as workers, resulting in the denial of their basic labour and human rights.



Domestic workers routinely work 16-18 hours a day every day of the week, are denied holidays, are underpaid or not paid at all for long periods, are abused, harassed, confined in the house, restricted from contact with families members and friends, and are terminated without notice. Migrant domestic workers are particularly vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, with threats of deportation, discriminatory labour laws, language barriers, withholding of documents by employers, and predatory recruitment agencies.



The deficiency of legislative protections for Domestic Workers allows recruitment agencies and employers to act with impunity as they exploit the most vulnerable sector of workers. Only half of the countries studied in the paper protect domestic workers freedom of association and right to organise. Only three of the ten countries include domestic workers in their labour laws and only one provides full labour protection to domestic workers, including migrant domestic workers. Laws that prevent migrants from forming unions and from holding union positions discriminate against migrant domestic workers and violate Article 2 of the ICCPR, which protects the rights of all individuals within the state territory, without discrimination. Furthermore, without the right to a weekly day off and with employers restricting the movements, and ability of domestic workers to leave the house, collective organising is impossible for almost all domestic workers in the region.



With concerted and immediate action, the ILO, countries of origin and countries of destination, unions, associations and the international community can, and must, enable domestic workers to claim and advance their human rights. The undersigned organisations endorse the following recommendations:



To the International Labour Organisation (ILO)


While the instrument(s) on domestic workers is finalised, the ILO needs to ensure that:


• Domestic workers, particularly migrant domestic workers, are given a voice during the ILC and throughout the process of developing the instrument(s) and implementation;


• Domestic workers representatives are included in their country delegations for the discussions on setting a domestic worker instrument(s);


• The rights of domestic workers to freely associate and to organise are protected by any such instrument, including protecting weekly time off and leave with pay, and prohibiting termination on grounds of being a member of, or participating in, trade union and other social activities;


• Undocumented migrant domestic workers are recognised as workers in the instrument to protect all domestic workers irrespective of their migratory status; and


• The current lack of national legislation should not be used as grounds for rejecting a binding convention.

To Governments of All Countries

To protect domestic workers all governments should:

• Ratify all international conventions and instruments on the freedom of association, right to organise and on migrant workers;


• Amend the labour law to include all domestic workers as workers in the law, including the provision of at least one paid day off per week and afford them all protections provided to other workers in a standard labour contract;


• Ensure labour laws promote and protect freedom of association, the right to organise and to form and join trade unions rights for domestic workers and allow multiple workplaces to be included in collective bargaining;


• Ensure labour laws are non-discriminatory and allow all domestic workers to form unions and associations, and hold union offices;


• Establish complaints mechanisms and provide information on domestic workers’ labour rights in the workers own language;


• Conduct mass public information campaigns to educate domestic workers, recruitment agencies, and employers about domestic workers’ rights and complaint mechanisms; and


• Establish and revise memorandum of understandings (MoUs), multilateral or bilateral agreements with other countries to protect migrant domestic workers’ rights.



To Governments of Destination Countries


To protect migrant domestic workers the governments of destination countries should also:

• Afford the same labour and human rights to migrant workers as to that of citizens to remove discrimination towards migrant workers;


• Prohibit the holding of documents by recruitment agencies or household employers and create reporting mechanisms;


• Recognise the rights of migrant workers contained in standard contracts, remove all laws or policies that are prohibitive to, or discriminate towards, the ability of migrant workers to seek and receive justice;


• Regulate recruitment agencies as intermediaries, rather than as employers, and limit their fees;


• Allow for the changing of recruitment agencies and of the employers by domestic workers, and for direct hiring opportunities; and


• Encourage tolerance and respect between migrant domestic workers, employers and society, in order to combat and eliminate all forms of discrimination, xenophobia and tension.



To Trade Unions and Domestic Worker Organisations


To promote the rights of domestic workers, trade unions and other organisations should:

• Include domestic workers and representatives of domestic worker organisations in Trade Union delegations to the ILC and support the proposed instrument(s) to protect the rights of domestic workers;


• Lobby governments to ratify any proposed instrument(s) on domestic workers and to amended the law to protect the rights of domestic workers;


• Encourage participation, member recruitment and support domestic workers organisation in registering as formal trade unions;


• In countries where domestic workers are not able to join or form registered trade unions, lobby the government to change the laws and continue to advocate for domestic workers where possible;


• Support informal groups and associations of domestic workers to build their capacity and to join with other workers groups;


• Assist migrant domestic workers and their organisations in their access to justice and to support mechanisms; and


• Conduct mass media campaigns and other initiatives to inform domestic workers of their rights, complaints mechanisms and the benefits of collective organising.




For more information on the briefing paper, please contact:


Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD)
Ph: (66) 53 284527 Fax: (66) 53 280847
philippa@apwld.org www.apwld.org
Empowering women to use law as an instrument of change and promoting women's human rights in the Asia Pacific region. APWLD is a core member of UFDWR.



________________________________________
[1] The national labour laws and right to collective representation of domestic workers in the ten Asian countries of Bangladesh, Hong Kong , India , Indonesia , Japan , Malaysia , Philippines , Sri Lanka , Taiwan and Thailand , were studied and the information collated into a briefing paper available early-June on the APWLD website: http://www.apwld.org/index.php

Electronics workers to get 4 regional unions soon (Star, 1/5/2010)

KUALA LUMPUR: Electronics industry workers can rejoice this Labour Day because although the Government still rejects a national union for them, the registration of four regional unions is almost complete.

The Department of Trade Union Affairs has to date registered three regional Electronics Employees Unions in the peninsular - the Western Region on Dec 1, 2009 (covering Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Perak); Southern Region on March 11 (Johor, Malacca and Negri Sembilan); and Union Northern Region on March 31 (Penang, Kedah and Perlis).

The Eastern Region, which covers Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang was still in the process of registration, said the Western Region union general secretary Bruno Periera.

“This is the first time in the history of Malaysian workers that a union has been broken up into regions.

“It was the decision of the Cabinet on May 27 last year that only unions at regional level would be allowed, unlike the national unions for the other industries,” he said in a statement.

Periera said the first attempt to be unionised nationally failed when the authorities forbade the Electrical Industry Workers’ Union to accept electronics workers as members, saying they were in two different sectors.

An attempt in the 1980s to set up its own national union also failed because government policy then was for in-house unions in the electronics sector only.

Citing other failed attempts over the decades, he said there were around 12 registered in-house unions with about 12,000 members.

“The electronics industry has been in Malaysia for over 35 years and it has raked in millions of ringgit in profits, but there has been little improvement for the employees.

“There is a huge difference in salaries between the employees and the management.

“In fact, it can be said that there has been no real salary increase from the 1970s to now, with a base salary of between RM350 to RM700 for operators, with most of them earning RM450 a month.”

Bernama reported that this issue had been a thorn in the flesh for the government since the early 70s when electronic multinationals first began making Malaysia their base to produce electronic chips and products.

The workers, represented by MTUC had demonstrated, protested and complained to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) over the last 40 years on the country's refusal to allow workers in this sector to unionise.

"Internationally, at almost at every ILO conference, the Malaysian labour minister was criticised and queried about this issue, and locally at every workers meeting, this issue was hotly debated," veteran trade unionist and past MTUC president Datuk Zainal Rampak told Bernama. As a result, the Malaysian government had a hard time convincing the international and local workers movement of its efforts to protect workers.

As a compromise, the government allowed these workers to form in-house unions but this was not accepted because the workers were still being exploited, he said.

Moreover, only 12,000 to 15,000 workers were members of these in-house unions which translated to a mere 5% of the total workforce in the industry.

He added the classic case was a company called Harris Advanced Technology Sdn Bhd which changed its name six times thus disallowing the workers to form an in-house union.- Star, 1/5/2010, Electronics workers to get 4 regional unions soon

Deaths of Migrants Must be Investigated

Mekong Migration Network ( MMN)


Press Release:


Deaths of Migrants Must be Investigated


March 17th 2010


On February 25th 2010, in Pak Nam sub-district, Ranong province, soldiers from the 25th Infantry Division fired on a pickup truck carrying 13 undocumented migrant workers from Burma, resulting in the deaths of three migrant children. Those killed were a three or four year old, six or seven year old girl, and a 16-year-old boy. Five others were also injured during the shooting .

On March 9th 2010, in Phuket, a 20-year-old woman and a young girl from Burma drowned in a river while fleeing from the police who arrived at the worker’s quarters at night. The woman had a work permit and was enrolled in the new nationality verification program and the girl was holding the temporary identification document (Tor Ror 38/1). According to a witness, workers nearby were too afraid to go and rescue the drowning pair, as the police held them off at gun point.

The Mekong Migration Network (MMN), a sub-regional network of 38 member organisations working together to protect migrants’ rights in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), is appalled by such tragic deaths of innocent children and women. These deaths would have been avoided if proper procedures had been followed and if the safety and well-being of migrants was respected.

In 2006-2007, the MMN conducted collaborative research on the arrest, detention and deportation (“ADD”) of migrant workers in the GMS and highlighted serious human rights abuses, as well as a lack of transparency and accountability during processes that involved ADD. While MMN’s core recommendation is that policies be amended so that migrants are not constantly at risk of arrest, detention and deportation, in the event that migrants are arrested, detained or deported, we called for the procedures to be carried out in a humane, safe and transparent manner and only by authorized, trained authorities. .





In response to these latest tragedies, The Mekong Migration Network urgently calls for the Royal Thai Government to:

1. Conduct full and impartial investigations into these events to ensure that the authorities involved are held liable for their actions.

2. Facilitate access to justice for the victims and their families and ensure that they receive adequate redress.

3. Take immediate steps to ensure that the relevant authorities enforce safe and humane procedures during the arrest and deportation of migrant workers according to the Thai Criminal Procedure Code; the 1997 Measures in Prevention and Suppression of Trafficking in Women and Children Act (Section 9); and Article 22 of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of Migrant workers and their Families (1999).

4. Address the level of fear and insecurity that has been created in the migrant community which leads to even fully documented migrants being terrified of uniformed officers.

Wrongful termination because they asked the employer to follow the law on Levy deduction!

Today workers are in tripartite negotiation with employer and labour department . We hope they can reach agreement soon and workers will be entitling to their rights such as salary, levy deduction and other compensations.



Myanmar workers laid off without valid notice

Submitted by pekwan on Monday, March 15th, 2010


Monday, March 15th, 2010 12:12:00



ALL¬ROUND MISERY: Myanmar workers live in shabby conditions — Pic: HUSSEIN SHAHARUDDIN
KUALA LUMPUR: In Myanmar, US$850 (about RM2,900) is enough to sustain a person comfortably for a year, and that's what Zar Ni Swe from Yangon paid to an agent to get a job as a waitress in a restaurant in Malaysia.
But on Feb 15, the second day of the Chinese New Year, Ni Swe, along with 25 other Myanmar waiters and waitresses at Jogoya Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur, were given a week's notice that their services were no longer required.
This heart-breaking news was conveyed to them in a memo which gave no reason nor was it signed.
On top of that, the memo had more bad news — the first part dealt with Myanmar waiters who had savings, and the second part for those who didn't have money.
In the case of Ni Swe, she was asked to pay a RM450 levy to the restaurant, also a month's salary of RM150 as compensation for her "previous mistakes" (no matter whether she was at fault or not) and also immigration costs of RM150.

Those with no savings were told to work for another company until they paid their dues to get their passports back.
Ni Swe, who worked for almost four years, had the courage to ask the restaurant management why she and her countrymen and women were given a week's notice when it should have been a three months'. No satisfactory answer was given.

Allegedly too, the restaurant had not paid their February salary. What followed were frantic attempts to seek help from their agents in Myanmar ("We cannot help") and Malaysia ("We cannot help too"), embassy of Myanmar ("Call your agents"), the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia, or Suhakam ("Wait for labour office to investigate"), police ("Call your agents") and the Federal Territory Department of Labour ("Give us some time to investigate").
A closer look at the hostel where Ni Swe and another 69 Myanmars were staying.

The hostel is a four-storey building at Jalan Changkat Thamby Dollah. The restaurant and storeroom are on the first floor, the male workers live on the second floor and the females live on the third floor.


From Malaymail