#Human Resources #Employer

Employers Accused Of Using Arrests to Avoid Paying Wages

Mohamad Danial bin Ab. Khalil
by Mohamad Danial bin Ab. Khalil
Apr 14, 2021 at 4:00 PM

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According to activists, the practice of employers reporting foreign workers to the Immigration Department to avoid paying their salaries is nothing new. Abdul Aziz Ismail of the Selangor Anti-Human Trafficking Council said these employers have been using foreign workers as pawns to lower business costs. 

He said he has been aware of these incidents dating back to the 90s and that he was personally involved in a few cases in the mid-2000s. He added that the employers were in the construction and plantations sector. 

He stated that in a rare case, more than 40 workers had worked for about ten months, and they had yet to receive their wages. The bosses avoided paying them the wages owed by getting them arrested and detained. 

Abdul Aziz explained that some employers participate in frequent employee "cycling". They would replace their quotas, and after some workers have been arrested, they would contact employment agents to replace them. 

The activist alleged there were corruption cases among those involved in providing work passes and among employment agents. A high worker turnover allows parties to skim from the fees needed when applying for permits. 

 

Prevalent in the construction sector

Glorene Das, executive director of rights organisation Tenaganita, said that they had managed several similar cases, especially in the construction sector.  

She said that many workers were arrested, charged, whipped, deported and never got paid. NGOs in these workers' country of origin referred their cases to Tenaganita.

She said she knows about cases where parties unethically recruited refugees and asylum seekers with promises of a fair salary after completing the project. They were then paid small amounts throughout to keep them content. 

construction worker
After the workers start to demand wage towards the end of the project, the raids would occur. 

Glorene said that the authorities should hand down harsh punishments not just to employers but a bigger group of stakeholders responsible for the corrupt practice, including recruiting agencies and investors. 

She said that compounds and fines do not have an effect but revoking their licence for some time would work, as would freezing their bank accounts or naming and shaming the perpetrators. 

She stated that it is about time the government reevaluates the system for recruiting foreign workers, and there is a need to establish a national labour migration policy. 

 

Ministry of Home Affairs' investigation

On April 9, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said that the Ministry of Home Affairs would investigate accusations that some employers reported their foreign workers without valid documents to the Immigration Department to avoid paying their salaries. 

He said that the ministry would investigate every aspect of these issues to ensure that justice is done to all parties involved. 

He stated that the government could not simply blame employers for allegedly lodging the reports. They would have conducted an investigation with specific strategies to ensure that employers abide by the law before raiding.

He said that the same goes for Temporary Work Pass (PLKS) holders concerning levy payment. If anything happens, the ministry will investigate the workers, including determining if they have received due wages, who hired them and where they were employed who hired them.

He added that the ministry would claim unpaid wages on their behalf. The minister was asked to comment on allegations that some employers reported to the Immigration Department concerning undocumented foreign workers at building sites to avoid paying their due wages upon completing a project. 

 

Sources: FMTThe Edge Markets

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