Latest news with #AndyHall
Free Malaysia Today
25-05-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
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.
Free Malaysia Today
19-05-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Factory threatened to deport 60 migrants amid strike, says activist
Some of the Bangladeshi migrant workers with placards stating their grievances against a glove mould factory. PETALING JAYA : A glove mould manufacturer has allegedly threatened to deport 60 Bangladeshi workers after they downed tools over unpaid wages and other grievances, according to migrant rights activist Andy Hall. He said the strike entered its third day yesterday, with 176 workers said to be participating by staying home instead of turning up for work 'The factory is not officially shut, but there is no production going on,' Hall said. He said the workers at the factory, which supplies glove moulds to local and global glove makers, first went on strike from March 6 to 18 over arrears of salaries and overtime unpaid for months. The company paid up after intervention by his team, Hall said, and returned the passports of about 80 workers. The workers returned to work on March 19, but tensions escalated again when the workers demanded refunds of RM22,500 each in fees and related costs incurred before arriving in Malaysia. Hall said the company agreed to refund the costs but only over a 12-month period, which led to a new strike on Friday. The workers demanded that future wages be paid on time, all passports be renewed, and visas extended without further delay. He alleged that the company's managing director had threatened to deport 'not just one person' but 60, saying if they stopped work, they would all be sent back because there was no more work. Hall said a Bangladeshi official had visited the company on Thursday and met with the workers; he had also met human resources minister Steven Sim in Putrajaya on Thursday together with another senior Bangladeshi official. FMT has sought comment from the labour department as well as the company.
Press and Journal
16-05-2025
- General
- Press and Journal
Why Moray Council officials are recommending AGAINST upgrade works to Buckie High School
Education officials have warned Buckie High School could be left to deteriorate as part of a plan to secure government funding for a new school. This is despite council officers admitting the school has 'further deteriorated' and is close to becoming part of the lowest rated schools in Scotland. Councillors have been given a number of options to decide the future of the school, but have decided to delay the decision until after a public meeting in June. The council will also wait until after a decision to move ahead with Elgin High School's extension has been made in the autumn. While guaranteeing 'complete transparency,' Deputy Chief Executive for education Denise Whitworth warned upgrade works could impact any future funding bids for improvements. Officials are hesitant because if school standards improve, it risks the Scottish Government diverting funding to a different school in need of a new build. It means any future works to Buckie High School will likely be dictated by the Scottish Government's school standards grading system. Currently, on a scale from A to D, Buckie High is rated a 'C' in condition and 'B' in suitability. The minimum standards for both is 'B'. This puts the school in the worst 8% of both primaries and secondaries in Scotland. Moray Council's learning estate programme manager Andy Hall admitted there is a 'necessity' for 'substantial' investment into Buckie High School. He told councillors 'mechanical and electrical' areas of the school have 'further deteriorated.' He also noted issues with the school's roof and windows. However, as a result of Moray Council's ongoing budget issues, officers admitted finding funds for school improvements is a 'significant concern.' The council is currently unable to fund a new school for Buckie and would need financial support from the Scottish Government. However, the government are yet to commit any more funding for new school projects. This conundrum means officers presented several alternatives to councillors, including transferring funding from other projects such as Elgin High School's extension. Buckie councillor Sonya Warren said the school and its additional role as a community centre has always been 'the heart of the community.' She wants the school to remain 'top of the priority list' for a new build to afford Buckie students the same learning opportunities as 'all other upgraded schools in Moray.' Fochabers Lhanbryde councillor Marc Macrae said it was 'disappointing' the recent Programme for Government announcement did not make any further funding available. Meanwhile, SNP group leader Scott Lawrence said it was important to 'maximise the funding opportunities' and said any extra money the council could source for Buckie High School would be welcome. The council has agreed to postpone any decision until after a public meeting on the 17th June and once final research into Elgin High's extension is complete. However, councillors did agree to work together to prepare a cross-party letter to be sent to the Scottish Government, asking for a clearer picture on future school funding.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
English second tier gets Champ Rugby rebrand in new 14-club league
Ealing Trailfinders did not meet the Premiership's minimum standards this year despite winning the Championship. Ealing Trailfinders did not meet the Premiership's minimum standards this year despite winning the Championship. Photograph: Andy Hall/The Observer English rugby union's second tier will be rebranded as Champ Rugby from next season in a move designed to raise standards and add greater aspiration and jeopardy for clubs. Beneath the glitzy launch, however, many questions still remain. Simon Gillham, the Tier 2 chair, said that the new-look league of 14 clubs would bring a 'gripping conclusion to the season' – with the top six entering a playoff tournament for the right to face the bottom-placed Premiership club for a promotion place. Advertisement However, Gillham confirmed that discussions have not yet concluded on terms for promotion, with minimum operating standards still to be agreed. Related: The Breakdown | Rugby union's bonus points barely change the Premiership table. Should we scrap them? The thorny issue of whether a promoted club will have to purchase a P-share, allowing them to participate in the Premiership's financial benefits and governance, has also not been decided. Ealing Trailfinders did not meet the minimum standards for promotion this season despite winning the Championship, and Gillham refused to speculate on the chances of a club from Champ Rugby going up next year. Advertisement However he insisted: 'We will do everything to be at the table and to make sure that there's proper aspiration and there's proper jeopardy. That is absolutely what we are determined to do.' Another complicating factor is that Rugby Football Union chief executive, Bill Sweeney, recently warned that promotion and relegation 'does not work', while Premiership clubs are angling for a ringfenced league based on franchises. But Conor O'Shea, who sits on the Tier 2 board as well as being the RFU executive director of performance rugby, said that 'grown-up conversations' would take place to ensure the dream of promotion remained a possibility. 'As it stands, at the end of next season there will be a promotion/relegation playoff based on minimum standards,' said O'Shea. 'We know that only Doncaster met them this year. The discussions are, how do we improve that? How do you make it accessible without breaking clubs?' Advertisement 'There is a heck of a lot of work to do,' he added. 'Our focus is the step change we want to make in the Champ. It's already a great competition, but we want all the standards across the board to grow.' Organisers are yet to announce a title sponsor. However with the bottom club being relegated, and the 13th placed club facing a relegation playoff against the National League One runner-up, the hope is that more matches will matter, leading to greater interest and bigger crowds to raise revenue. As part of England Rugby's strategy to attract new audiences, the launch video is voiced by the rugby influencer and YouTuber Max Brown. 'This is where we raise the bar,' Brown says as pounding music plays. 'Where standards are set. Where mettle is tested. Where stars rise. And where hype is realised. We build players who refuse to back down and clubs that demand respect. Communities fuelled by passion. Rivalries played out on a national stage. 'We live for the good of the game. Pushing it further. Driving English Rugby forwards. Match by match, moment by moment. This is the ultimate test. Welcome to the proving ground. This is Champ Rugby.'
Free Malaysia Today
03-05-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Overdue wages still unpaid, say ex-Kawaguchi workers
Workers of plastics component supplier Kawaguchi Manufacturing protesting at the company's factory in Port Klang in December. PETALING JAYA : More than 40 former Bangladeshi migrant workers have lodged official complaints in Bangladesh and Malaysia against plastics component supplier Kawaguchi Manufacturing over unpaid overdue wages, a migrant rights activist said. According to Andy Hall, the workers said they received only a first repayment instalment of RM1,000 in January. A second instalment, due in April, had yet to be paid. The complainants are among 251 workers who were to receive a total of almost RM3 million in overdue salaries, in an agreement reached in December after the workers staged a peaceful protest at the company's factory in Port Klang. Some of the workers had gone without pay for seven months last year. A spokesman for 22 workers who petitioned the labour department in Port Klang on Wednesday, said that 12 of them were still without jobs. 'We cannot look for jobs because our visas have expired, through no fault of our own, and we cannot even return home. 'We also buy and share food among ourselves,' the spokesman said, adding that they have had to dip into their savings or borrowed money from their friends to get through the day. The Port Klang labour office said that they were still investigating claims by the former workers of Kawaguchi Manufacturing. 'These workers can file a complaint with the nearest labour department and enquire about their status,' the department's spokesman told FMT. FMT has contacted Kawaguchi for comment. Calls to a number provided by the affected workers, said to be that of a company representative, went unanswered. Kawaguchi Manufacturing supplies components to major Japanese air conditioning and electronics brands. Hall said 22 other former Kawaguchi workers who returned to Bangladesh had lodged a complaint with the expatriates ministry in Dhaka. The workers in Bangladesh said they will petition the Malaysian embassy in Dhaka today on the same issue, while the workers in Malaysia said they will go to the Bangladeshi High Commission to seek its assistance. Hall said the Kawaguchi case is symbolic of systemic modern slavery, forced labour, impunity, corruption and the total absence of the rule of law in Malaysia. 'At this stage, I have little genuine hope or expectation that officials in either Bangladesh or Malaysia will assist workers to access justice and their owed wages for past slave labour. So, what else can the workers do but complain to officials in both countries tasked to protect them from such abuse,' he told FMT. The labour department is believed to have opened eight investigation papers against Kawaguchi and accommodation providers for the overdue salaries and lack of certification for their accommodation facilities.
