KUALA LUMPUR: A construction firm in Cheras is facing legal action by the Home Ministry (KDN) and the Human Resources Ministry (KSM) for abandoning 93 of its Bangladeshi workers brought into the country without employment or proper housing.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and Human Resource Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong said in a joint statement that the employer also failed to ensure the welfare of its workers in terms of accommodation and meals, as reported by NST.
The rescued workers were brought to the Putrajaya Immigration Department for documentation process. They will be taken to before taken to the magistrate to obtain interim protection orders.
The ministries have outlined six charges against the employer, including legal measures under the Passport Act 1966, the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007, the Employment Act 1955, and the Employees’ Minimum Standards of Housing, Accommodation, and Amenities Act 1990.
The Minimum Standards of Housing, Accommodation and Employee Facilities Act 1990 provides general penalties. If convicted, the perpetrator could face fines of up to RM50,000 for each offence due to neglecting employee salary payments and not providing suitable living conditions.
Furthermore, employers will be blacklisted from making new foreign worker employment applications under Section 60K of the Labor Act 1955.
Their remaining quotas for foreign workers will also be cancelled.
They additionally warned all businesses that use foreign workers to ensure that they follow local laws and safeguard the welfare of their employees.
As reported by Free Malaysia Today, more than 100 Bangladeshi workers have been without jobs since arriving in Malaysia in November, according to migrant labour rights activist Andy Hall.
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