Bangladeshi workers protest in Malaysia over unpaid wages and mistreatment claims

DHAKA, Bangladesh -- About 100 Bangladeshi workers who were employed by Malaysian companies rallied Monday to request unpaid wages, just compensation and an extremity to alleged maltreatment by Malaysian employers.

The Migrant Welfare Network, a Bangladeshi migrant radical based successful Malaysia and Bangladesh, organized the protestation astatine the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment successful Bangladesh’s superior Dhaka.

The demonstrators said the lawsuit was organized to protestation what they accidental is widespread mistreatment of migrant workers successful Malaysia, 1 of Southeast Asia's richest nations. They demanded unpaid wages and compensation for 431 Bangladeshi workers they said were exploited by 2 Malaysian companies, Mediceram and Kawaguchi Manufacturing.

The Associated Press could not instantly scope the companies for comment.

Many factories successful Malaysia and different Southeast Asia countries trust connected migrant workers, often from Bangladesh, Myanmar and Nepal, to capable labor-intensive jobs successful manufacturing, plantations oregon construction. Local workers usually debar specified jobs due to the fact that of their mediocre conditions and debased wages.

The Migrant Welfare Network urged Bangladeshi and Malaysian authorities and planetary buyers to instrumentality contiguous enactment to guarantee workers person wages already owed, just compensation and “justice for systemic abuses.”

The radical said successful connection Monday that a ailment claiming forced labour and neglect has been filed with the Malaysian authorities against Australian institution Ansell, a large lawsuit of Mediceram, which manufactures gloves for medical, concern and home use.

A abstracted ailment was filed against Kawaguchi, which supplied integrative components to ample Japanese companies, including Sony Group.

In May, astir 280 Bangladeshi migrant workers for Kawaguchi demanded hundreds of thousands of dollars successful backmost wages and different wealth owed to them aft the institution closed 5 months earlier.

Workers astatine Kawaguchi’s mill successful Port Klang filed complaints successful Malaysia and Bangladesh claiming the institution withheld their wages for up to 8 months earlier closing aft Sony and Panasonic Holdings Corp., 2 of Kawaguchi’s main customers, halted orders successful effect to allegations the workers were mistreated.

“In the beginning, they utilized to wage the wage successful parts, meaning they would springiness 500–1000 ringgit (about $120-$240) per period arsenic nutrient expenses,” said erstwhile Kawaguchi worker Omar Faruk, who began moving for the shaper successful 2022. “After withholding the salary, the institution started considering shutting down. Later, we filed a ailment astatine the Bangladesh High Commission successful Malaysia."

Harun Or Rasid Liton, who worked astatine Mediceram, accused the institution of not paying contempt an bid by the Malaysian Labor Court.

"The tribunal ruled that the institution would wage america 1,000 ringgit per month, but the institution paid lone the archetypal installment and past stopped paying,” helium said. “Later, we had nary prime but to instrumentality to Bangladesh. Now we are facing terrible hardship successful maintaining our families.”

There person been wide reports of maltreatment of Bangladeshi workers successful Malaysia and disputes betwixt employees and companies person go a diplomatic sore constituent betwixt Bangladesh and Malaysia. Workers’ rights groups person demanded stringent scrutiny connected the almighty radical of recruitment agencies and middlemen who monopolize specified jobs.