Malaysia is one of Asia's biggest employers of foreign labour. But recently, cases of deaths, abuse and forced labour have come to light. What is going on? Who is protecting these migrant workers?
As such, court chairman Datuk Ahmadi Asnawi threw out V. Sheela Devi’s claims for wrongful dismissal.
<P>He said the 1999 collective agreement between MAS
and the Malaysian Airlines System Employees Union Peninsular Malaysia clearly
stated that in the event a stewardess became pregnant after having two surviving
children, the company could terminate her services.</P><P>“Article 27(j)
of the CA is a private law and it does not contravene her constitutional rights
or public policy as in the case of Beatrice Fernandez.</P><P>“MAS has every
right to dismiss her if she does not resign,” said Ahmadi.</P><P>He also
dismissed Sheela Devi’s contention that MAS had actually condoned the pregnancy
by granting her one-month unpaid leave after being informed about the third pregnancy.</P><P>“She
was already on unpaid leave from Jan 27, 1998, as she was pregnant with her second
child,” he said.</P><P>“The leave continued until the child was delivered
and subsequently till she told the company about her third pregnancy in July 1999.</P><P>“The
one-month extended leave was granted on a humanitarian basis and upon her application
so that she could find suitable ground work.”</P><P>Sheela Devi delivered
her third child on Feb 20, 2000, and a domestic inquiry was held and concluded
in April 2000.</P><P>The inquiry found her guilty of contravening the CA and she
was dismissed on June 1, 2000.</P><P>The Fernandez case referred to by Ahmadi
involved another MAS stewardess who was dismissed in 1991 after she refused to
resign when she became pregnant with a third child.</P><P>Fernandez, who had been
a MAS employee for 11 years, lost a 14-year court battle against the airline when
the Federal Court in March last year refused to grant her leave to appeal, stating
that she was bound by the terms of the CA then.</P><P>Following the case and outcry
where MAS was accused of gender discrimination, MAS and Maseu signed a letter
of exchange on May 3 last year allowing female flight attendants to have three
children instead of two.
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