KUALA LUMPUR – The company accused of violating labour laws in the case involving over 733 Bangladeshi workers in Pengerang is set to face a legal challenge after failing to pay RM1.03 million in unpaid wages owed to workers duped into coming to the country for non-existent jobs.
The Human Resources Ministry said the Johor Labour Department was currently enforcing labour court orders under Section 69(4) of the Employment Act 1955 against the employers.
If convicted, they may face a fine of RM50,000 for each offence, along with the obligation to pay the arrears owed to the affected workers.
Ten files have been opened after complaints were received that the workers had not been paid, and from the 10, a follow-up on six of them was initiated, while the remaining four received permission to prosecute.
“The company’s quota for hiring migrant workers has also been cancelled, and the employer has been blacklisted from hiring new migrant workers.
“However, 692 (of the 733) migrant workers have been hired through the Special Employer Change Process,” it added.
On February 5, mediation proceedings were held, attended by a Johor Labour Department officer, and the employers and workers involved, and witnessed by officers from the Bangladesh High Commission.
It was reported that the parties had reached a mutual agreement with a payment totalling RM1,035,557.50 in wages to the workers involved.
The ministry said employers were still responsible for paying the wages of workers brought in but not provided with employment, as reiterated by Human Resources Minister Steven Sim.
Sim was reported as saying that the successful proceedings was a landmark case that would serve as a reference in future labour-related cases, as it involved migrant workers being brought in legally, neglected and not provided with employment upon arrival in the country.
It was reported that 171 Bangladeshi workers were arrested by police in Pengerang, Johor, in December last year while marching to file a police report over unpaid wages.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and Sim said on January 6 that the company that had brought in the migrants and promised them non-existent jobs had been blacklisted. – May 16, 2024