Stern action against company that duped Bangladeshi workers in Cheras

The Bangladeshi workers living in cramped conditions in Cheras before they were rescued by immigration department officials. (Andy Hall pic)

PETALING JAYA: The company in Cheras which recruited 94 Bangladeshi workers but failed to provide them with jobs will face severe legal repercussions.

Home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and human resources minister Steven Sim said the company that brought the workers to Malaysia last November had “abandoned” them and did not provide them with proper living quarters or adequate food.

“Decisive action will be taken by both ministries against the employers,” Saifuddin and Sim said in a joint statement.

“Employers who hire foreign workers must always take care of their welfare and make sure they comply with national legal standards.”

The migrant workers were taken to the Putrajaya immigration department to be documented before being brought before a magistrate to obtain an interim protection order.

Saifuddin and Sim agreed that the employers must face legal action under the Immigration Act 1959/63 for holding the workers’ passports, and the Employment Act 1955 for failing to pay them.

They will also face charges under the Employees’ Minimum Standards of Housing, Accommodations and Amenities Act 1990 for failing to provide proper accommodation, and will be investigated under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act (Atipsom) 2007.

Apart from cancelling their remaining quotas for foreign workers and their approval letters, the employers will be blacklisted from applying for foreign workers in the future, they said.

FMT reported that the workers had paid recruitment fees of between RM19,500 and RM21,700 to secure employment in Malaysia, where they were promised good living facilities and high-paying jobs.

Three of the workers interviewed by migrant labour rights activist Andy Hall said payment of the recruitment fees had pushed them into debt bondage as they had to borrow heavily.

They said their passports were confiscated upon arrival, and they suffered physical and verbal abuse. In addition, they were subjected to death threats by a man who picked them up at the airport.

The report said the workers lived in a confined space with only one toilet. They received inadequate food of mostly rice, lentils and mashed potatoes, with one worker claiming not to have been given food for up to four days after asking for updates on his job situation.

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