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?
Losing their jobs after the factory they worked for went belly-up has turned out to be the worst of the worries for 531 migrant workers in Johor.
Penniless after not being paid their wages for several months, the migrant workers now find that they owe three sundry shops, an eatery and Tenaga Nasional Bhd up to RM200,000.
As a result, Malay daily Harian Metro, which visited some of the workers at their quarters in Taman Perindustrian Grisek near Muar, reported that the workers are no longer extended credit to buy food and are now “starving”.
“Since earlier this year, we have only been paid half-month’s wages. The employer promised to pay off the rest in the following months but never did.
“This meant that we only received RM400 a month, which is not enough to sustain our expenses.
“So, we have had to sell our belongings, including our motorcycles, bicycles, gas tanks and watches to buy food,” Pakistani worker Talat Khan, 32, told the daily when met.
On Monday, Malaysiakini reported that the workers from Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are stranded after the company, a furniture manufacturer based in Tangkak, Johor, went bankrupt.
MTUC Johor secretary K Mohanadas (right) said the workers are also worried that their electricity will be cut as TNB says they owe around 10,000 in back fees.
This is despite the company deducting their wages for electricity and water before this, Mohanadas said.
Harian Metro also quoted a local worker, R Susila, 51, who called on the company to give the workers their back wages, especially as Deepavali is around the corner.
She said that she was paid only RM500 a month since January and has had trouble keeping up with rent and car payments, as well as college fees for her two children.
The listed phone number for the firm is no longer in use while one of its supervisors has not responded to calls from Malaysiakini and MTUC.
Source: Malaysiakini
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