Malaysia to ensure salary to workers if cheated by employers

The Malaysian government will ensure full salaries to the Bangladeshi workers, around 800, who alleged that their employers had cheated them by not paying the salaries promised to them.
The workers, however, are most likely to be sent back home as they refused to resume work at their workplaces and did not opt for alternative jobs either. Instead, they all demanded employment in a single factory, which is a very difficult condition to be met, Bangladesh High Commissioner M Khairuzzaman told The Daily Star.
If the workers' claims are proven true, their salaries will be remitted to them even if they are deported, said Datuk Ismail Abdul Rahim, director general of the country's labour department, adding that the investigation into the workers' claims is to be completed by next week.
Quoting the director general, The New Straits Times, a Malaysian daily, reported on October 19 that the department officials had obtained the employers' contract documents and were interviewing the workers who were being held by the immigration authorities.
The Bangladeshi workers alleged that since January this year, four textile factories in Batu Pahat of Johor paid only Malaysian ringgit (RM) 200 a month to each worker as opposed to RM 1,200 they had been promised.
To protest and redress the breach of promise, the workers on October 9 headed for the Bangladesh high commission in Kuala Lumpur on 27 chartered buses, but the Malaysian immigration authorities re-directed the buses to a stadium and later sheltered the workers in hostels in Port Dickson.
"We need to get the original contracts the workers had signed in Bangladesh. We are also helping them file a proper statement of claim for us to act on," Datuk Ismail said adding that the employers will have to make up for the balance if there is proof that the workers were cheated out of their salaries.
"Even if the workers go back first, we will still proceed with the claims and any money due will be sent to Bangladesh," he said.
He also pointed out that the Bangladeshi workers in general did not seem to be aware that they could have filed their complaints with the labour department.
By holding a strike and attempting to protest at their embassy, they ended up breaching their work contract and would only be able to claim for payment until the day they stopped work, he said. "If they don't come to work for two consecutive days, they are deemed to have breached their contract. They should have reported their complaints to us earlier as we can act fast and deal with their employers."
Ismail said the four textile factories are all owned by the same company and the company could be charged for not reporting relevant employment details including the number of foreign workers it was employing to the labour department.
All employers who employ foreign workers are required to file this report under the Employment Act 1955 within 14 days upon receiving a new batch of workers, but many employers do not comply, he added.
On why problems seem to be rife among Bangladeshi workers compared with workers from other countries, Ismail said some employers were still using recruiting agents despite being warned against such practices.
"These agents are illegal. They could be either Malaysians or Bangladeshis who come here on social visit passes and hang around for a while to make contact with employers," said the director general. "The problem is, some employers take this lightly, even giving agents the power of attorney. .... The agents want to make a cut for themselves and that's how the workers are given false promises of higher pay.”