Migrants in Malaysia: Worker faces deportation after speaking up

A Malaysian company has revoked the work permit of a Bangladeshi migrant and threatened to do the same to 60 others on Thursday, a day after the workers talked to Expatriates' Welfare Adviser Prof Asif Nazrul about poor working conditions, several workers have said.

The management of Negeri Sembilan-based Mediceram, which manufactures rubber gloves, called the worker named Nahid Ibrahim and told him that his work permit would be revoked and he would be deported, they said.

During his four-day visit to Malaysia from May 13-16, the adviser met the Mediceram workers and held meetings with three Malaysian ministers to discuss how the Southeast Asian country can reopen its labour market for Bangladeshis and address the problems facing the workers.

Amid reports of irregularities in overseas recruitment, Malaysia suspended hiring Bangladesh workers in May last year.

Requesting anonymity, a worker of the gloves factory said, "We were shocked when we heard that Nahid would be deported and protested. Then, the management said it has a list of 60 of us who would be deported."

Nearly 200 workers then began a strike on Friday, he said, requesting not to be named for fear of backlash.

In an email to Prof Asif's Private Secretary Sarwoer Alam, Nahid wrote, "The company followed me and heard what I said about labour issues with our adviser. All of a sudden, they called me to the office and said I would be deported."

The email was also sent to the Bangladesh High Commission in Kuala Lumpur.

Nahid went to Malaysia under a three-year contract and his visa expires in August this year. He spent more than Tk 5 lakh to reach the country and is still in debt because the company had not paid him regularly, according to the email.

"Please discuss with the company and stand by me and my family," Nahid wrote.

Nahid told The Daily Star yesterday that neither the adviser's PS nor the High Commission responded to the email.

According to a letter submitted to Prof Asif on May 14, the Bangladeshis workers gave between Tk 500,000 and Tk 600,000 to a recruiting agency named Greenland for jobs in Malaysia.

"Before our flights, they forced us to say on camera that we paid only Tk 78,000," reads the letter.

However, wages have been irregular for the last two years. In some months, the company pays only half or one-third of the salary, it said.

"Our families are now in deep financial crises. Our debts have doubled. In some months, we had to borrow more money from Bangladesh just to afford food here," it said.

Under such circumstances, they filed a complaint to the Labour Court late last year and then to the Bangladesh High Commission, but got no remedy.

They then contacted a migrant rights activist Andy Hall, who raised the issue with Mediceram and then got the labour issues audited by a third party.

At one point of time, Mediceram agreed to pay wages regularly and repay Malaysian Ringgit (RM) 22,500, which was spent as recruitment fees. It also paid RM 1,000 as an advance, assuring that another RM 875 would be paid on May 31, and the remaining amount would be paid in 12 months.

"But this payment plan is extremely difficult for us and poses a major challenge for our families," they said in the letter.

They have also requested the company to pay the full recruitment fee in a single installment.

Earlier, Mediceram had deported 35 workers to Bangladesh without any notice. Currently, the work permits of 170 have not been renewed. Some have been without a visa for a year, others for two years. A few months ago, four workers were arrested as they had no valid visas, but the company has not taken any responsibility, the letter says.

"We urge that our visas be renewed within next month and earnestly request you to resolve all these issues," the letter said.

Prof Asif met these migrants on the Mediceram company premises, advised them to solve any problem through discussion and not do anything that can be harmful for them or the company.

He also provided the email and phone number so that the migrants could directly contact him.

Adviser Asif and his PS Sarower could not be reached over phone for comments yesterday.

The Daily Star emailed Mediceram seeking comments on the allegations, but was yet to receive a reply as of last night.