We refer to “More from Nepal die of heart attack” (News, June 13) and related reports. We dispute the claim by Malaysian Employers Federations that employers shouldn’t be faulted for long working hours.
Shamsudin Bardan, the executive director of MEF, claims that workers request to work overtime, implying that the employers have nothing to do with it.
The MEF was responding to the reports by Nepal’s Ambassador to Malaysia Dr Niranjan Man Singh Basnyat who revealed that 70% of the 461 deaths of Nepal workers in Malaysia last year were due to heart attack, basically suffered while sleeping, probably due to their long working hours.
It is irresponsible for the employers to wash their hands on this issue, as most contracts for foreign workers specify 12 hours as standard daily working hours. Even though the workers will be paid overtime rates for the additional four hours, foreign workers are required to “comply” with this 12-hour shift.
If they refuse to work overtime, they are labelled unproductive and in most instances denied future overtime work. Due to low wages, most workers force themselves to work 12 hours daily and even seven days a week to earn sufficient wages to enable them to send money to their families in Nepal.
Most workers borrow money in their home country by mortgaging their land or houses to pay for their recruitment fees. They make an investment hoping that they will be able to earn handsome wages working in Malaysia.
Unfortunately on arrival, they realise that their promised minimum wage of RM900 is subject to further deductions for levy, housing, electricity, etc. After these unexpected deductions, they are desperate to send home enough money to pay the loans they have taken to pay for the recruitment fees.
If they fail to service their debt, their families will lose their homes and land. Thus most migrant workers have little choice but to work 12 hours a day to settle their debts.
Employers should promptly stop the 12-hour daily shift and offer overtime only if there is a need for increased production. The contract for foreign workers must specify this clearly and there should not be any intimidation to work 12-hour shifts.
The employers need to stop immediately the deduction of levy payment from workers’ wages.
The levy is a premium payment that the employers pay to bring in migrant workers and it is unacceptable that this payment is deducted from workers’ wages.
The MEF has to ensure employers comply with the new minimum wages of RM1,000 from next month.
The Human Resources Ministry has to ensure that employers send their workers for periodical medical check-ups and factories have sufficient in-house medical facilities.
The government needs to ensure that foreign workers are not burdened by recruitment fees and abuses by labour supply companies.
Sivarajan
Secretary-General
Parti Sosialis Malaysia
Source: The Sundaily