Foreign workers threaten to go on strike again at mould-making plant
The mould manufacturer had settled the workers' back wages after it was reported in March that they had gone without pay for three months or payment for overtime work for five months. (Bernama pic)
PETALING JAYA : Bangladeshi workers employed by a ceramic former and specialist gloves mould manufacturer have threatened to go on strike for a second time tomorrow after one of their colleagues allegedly had his work visa cancelled.
Migrant worker rights activist Andy Hall said the workers at the factory alleged that the worker had been singled out today by the company for being a ringleader in highlighting non-payment of wages and other grievances in the past.
In March, FMT reported that some 190 Bangladeshi workers at the factory, based in a southern state, had gone without pay for three months or payment for overtime work for five months.
Hall had also said then that the workers were in debt bondage after paying exorbitant recruitment fees and costs in the hope of finding jobs in Malaysia.
The group also claimed that they had been inconsistently paid since 2023 and alleged that they were being put up in poor living conditions and not allowed to keep their passports while their work visas had also expired.
Contacted today, Hall said he was puzzled as to why the company would cancel the visa of the worker, with the man's colleagues claiming it was unjust.
Hall said he was also at a loss over the company's action when it had agreed to several demands by the foreign labourers in recent months to get them to return to work after a prolonged strike.
'Apart from agreeing to pay the back wages, the company provided an improved hostel, and the workers were happy with the living conditions.
'It seemed that some issues had been resolved amicably, so this decision to cancel an alleged whistleblower's visa came as a surprise to me,' he said.
He hoped that the company would take the allegation of whistleblower intimidation seriously and investigate the claims.
He also defended the whistleblower, saying he played an important role in highlighting the alleged abuses and did so out of desperation.
He said the employee was not trying to be a 'trouble maker'.
Following a third party audit at the factory as a result of the complaints by Hall and the workers in late April, the company offered all of the workers RM22,500 each over 12 months as repayment for their recruitment fees and costs paid to secure work at the company.
The workers' back wages were also promptly cleared.
In a message to Hall, a representative of the company denied claims that they had cancelled the worker's visa, saying it was a clerical error, and labelled such allegations as 'misinformation'.
'There is no retaliation (towards the worker),' the representative said.
FMT has sought comments from the company and is withholding its identity pending a response.
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