Monday, June 21, 2010

无理开除争取员工权利外 劳 65组织联署谴责Maxter公司 (MAXTER GLOVE SHOULD REINSTATE BURMESE MIGRANT WORKER...was reported in Merdeka Review (Chinese)

 

无理开除争取 员工权利外 劳 65组织联署谴责Maxter公司

Merdeka Review published our statement in Chinese. For original statement in English, see earlier post:-STOP PENALIZING WORKERS WHO WANT TO GET JUSTICE - MAXTER GLOVE SHOULD REINSTATE BURMESE MIGRANT WORKER WHO COMPLAINED TO LABOUR DEPARTMENT

It is hoped that we get more coverage in the media as this is a fundamental issue that concerns all workers in Malaysia. What use is rights enshrined in law, when the worker gets terminated/discriminated against the moment he takes steps to claim his rights using the proper channels as provided by law. There must be law protecting workers from termination, etc...when they exercise their labour rights.

When a worker makes unlawful deduction of wages, fail to pay overtime, etc and the worker complains - at the end of the day, if the worker is successful, what he gets is what his employer should have given the worker but did not. This is bad, as 'smart' employers will continue to cheat workers knowing always that even if the worker complains, what the employer has to fork out at the end of the day is only what he should have but did not pay. There should be a further large fine imposed on the employer by the State, and maybe also an additional award of damages of a significant sum that the employer should pay the worker. That would deter employers from cheating workers.


无理开除争取员 工权利外 劳
65组织联署谴责Maxter公司

作者/本刊记者 Jun 11, 2010 04:41:32 pm
【本刊记者撰述】65个关注外 劳和工人权利的海内外组织团体,联署谴责Maxter手套制造私人有限公司无理开除争取员工权利的缅甸籍外劳,并呼吁政府修改宪法,保障员工利益。


这65个联署组 织包括国民醒觉运动(Aliran)、马来西亚职工总会(MTUC)、马来西亚人民之声(SUARAM)、马来西亚人民党(PRM)、雪兰莪自强协会 (EMPOWER)、雪兰莪及联邦直辖区社会协会(PERMAS)等。

他们在联署声明中所指,本地上市公司速伯玛(Supermax)旗下 位于雪兰莪州巴生的独资子公司Maxter手套制造私人有限公司(Maxter Glove Manufacturing Sdn Bhd),开除一名为了争取工人权利而勇于向劳工部投诉的缅甸籍外劳杜茂(Thu Maung)。

65个联署团体指出,在马来西亚,前往劳 工部投诉雇主不当对待和争取员工权利,是合理与合法程序,雇主不应该个别对待或甚至开除行使法律权利的员工,更不能够在员工权利受侵犯时,阻止抑或威胁员 工寻求法律途径解决问题。

Maxter手套制造私人有限公司是一家手套制造商,出口有粉乳胶检验手套、 无粉氯化乳胶手套、丁腈半浸手套(Nitrile gloves)和无菌手术手套。母公司速伯玛为主板上市公司,每年生产160亿片胶手套,去年税后盈利达1亿2600万元。

三 度投诉雇主剥削员工
在2010年3月23日,杜茂和另一名共事的缅甸籍外劳,到梳邦再也劳工局作投诉,指证雇主:
(一) 从员工薪水中无理扣除雇主聘请外劳原需支付的征款。
(二)从员工薪水中不正当扣除高达1000元的医疗体费用。
(三)不合法保留两个月薪 水。
(四)无法提供外劳膳宿。
(五)不让员工周休一天。
(六)要求员工超时工作(有时候一天内超过13小时),甚至包含公共假期 和休息日,同时没有依据法定费率支付超时和假日工作的薪水。

当天,他们两人亦曾向马来西亚人权委员会(SUHAKAM)投诉。过后在4月 12日,杜茂前往万挠劳工局作了详细投诉,而该劳工局因雇主地址位于巴生区,而把此事转交到巴生港口的劳工局处理。

据杜茂的说法,向梳邦再 也劳工局作出投诉大约一个月后,公司的代表们开始威胁个别员工,要他们说出谁到劳工局投诉,以及他们是否随行者。
联署组织谴责雇主威胁员工 的手法令人气愤,足以对员工造成恐慌和阻止他们索求自身员工权利。

在4月28日,杜茂的公司主管突然要杜茂交还员工证件,并叫他不需要再来 上班。
联署声明指出:“杜茂遭不正当开除,同时他相信这是起源于本身曾经前往劳工局投诉,更被当作是索求自身权利员工的首领。”

他 们表示,当员工是一名外劳,开除就意味取消工作签证,并要遣返回国,而这也意味他们无法到劳工局、劳工法庭、工业关系部门、工业法庭或民事法庭追讨他们的 权利,因为投诉者已经不在。

要求复职并赔偿
据悉,马来西亚采用于超过200万名外劳的现 有法律未经修改,无法保障索取本身权利的员工,是否受到不合理开除和遣返。

在《1967年工业关系法令》(Industrial Relations Act 1967)的第五条款言明,若员工有意组成、加入或鼓励其他员工加入职工会,雇主不能够偏袒、威胁、开除或不合理对待员工。
可 是,没有类似清楚说明的法律条款,保障透过劳工部或其他相关机构索求本身权利的员工。


“针对杜茂的事 件,我们要求他在没有任何利益损失的前提下马上获得复职。我们呼吁速伯玛执行主席兼集团董事经理郑金森,确保旗下子公司Maxter手套制造私人有限公 司,对待杜茂及其他与员工的错误行为能够告一段落。”

联署组织也要求,该公司支付员工之前不当扣除、无理保留及超时的薪水。同时,他们还呼 吁马来西亚政府进行所需的法律修改,避免雇主剥削员工,并保障员工可以索偿其权利。

“我们亦呼吁马来西亚政府,确保所有外劳可以继续合法留 在国内工作,直到他们在劳工部、劳工法庭、工业关系部门、工业法庭或民事法庭的案件和上诉获得处理。”

STOP PENALIZING WORKERS WHO WANT TO GET JUSTICE - MAXTER GLOVE SHOULD REINSTATE BURMESE MIGRANT WORKER WHO COMPLAINED TO LABOUR DEPARTMENT

Media Statement – 11/6/2010

STOP PENALIZING WORKERS WHO WANT TO GET JUSTICE
- MAXTER GLOVE SHOULD REINSTATE BURMESE MIGRANT
WORKER WHO COMPLAINED TO LABOUR DEPARTMENT

We, the undersigned 66 organizations, groups and networks, concerned about migrant and worker rights, are appalled at the treatment of workers at Maxter Glove Manufacturing Sdn Bhd (229862-H), at its factory at Lot 6070, Jalan Haji Abdul Manan, 6th Miles off Jalan Meru, Klang, Selangor, Malaysia.

We are appalled at the dismissal of Thu Maung, a Burmese migrant worker, who courageously lodged a complaint at the Labour Department to claim his rights as a worker. Claiming worker rights by lodging complaints against errant employers at the Labour Department is the proper and legally recognized procedure in Malaysia. It is very wrong for employers to discriminate against and/or terminate workers who are exercising their legal rights. It is also wrong for employers to discourage and/or threaten workers from seeking justice, when worker rights are being violated.

Maxter Glove Manufacturing Sdn Bhd is a subsidiary of Supermax Corporation Berhad. Maxter Glove Manufacturing Sdn Bhd is a gloves manufacturer that makes Latex Powdered Examination gloves, Clorinated & Polymer Coated Latex Powder Free gloves, Nitrile Gloves and Sterile surgical gloves which is also exported overseas. Supermax Corporation Berhad is an established company, that according to their 2009 Annual Report made an after-tax profit of about RM126 million.

On 23rd March 2010, Thu Maung and another Burmese migrant worker from Maxter Glove Manufacturing Sdn Bhd lodged a complaint at the Subang Jaya Labour Department. Their complaints, amongst others, was that the employer:-
a. had wrongfully deducted levy, that employers have to pay when they employ migrant workers, from the worker’s wages,
b. had unlawfully deducted the medical check-up fees of RM1000 from the worker’s wages,
c. had wrongfully withheld 2 months wages,
d. had failed to provide the migrant worker with accommodation,
e. had not been giving the workers one rest day per week,
f. had made the workers work overtime(sometimes up to 13 hours per day), and also on public holidays and rest days, and had thereafter failed to pay overtime wages and wages for working on rest days and/or public holidays at the statutorily stipulated rates.

On 23rd March, Thu Maung and another had also lodged a complaint at the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM).

On 12 April 2010, Thu Maung went again to the Labour Department in Rawang and gave a detailed complaint, whereby the Rawang Labour Department did record the complaint and forward the same to the Labour Department office in Port Klang, because they said that the Port Klang Labour Office, has the requisite jurisdiction since the employer, Maxter Glove Manufacturing Sdn Bhd, is in Klang.
According to Thu Maung, after about 1 month since the lodging of the complaint at the Subang Jaya Labour office, company’s representatives started intimidating workers individually by asking them who had complained to the Labour Department, and whether they were also going to complain to the Labour Department. This form of intimidation of workers is deplorable. This kind of actions by employers has the tendency of instilling fear and preventing workers from claiming their legally recognized labour rights.

On 28 April 2010, Thu Maung’s supervisor at the company, for no reason, suddenly asked him to return the worker’s pass and not to come back to work. Thu Maung was wrongfully terminated, and he verily believes that this was done just because he had complained to the Labour Department, and was perceived as the leader of the workers who wanted to claim their rights.

It is even worse when the worker is a migrant worker, for a termination will usually mean a cancellation of the work visa, and deportation back to their home country. This also would mean that they would not be able to even pursue their claims at the Labour Department, Labour Courts, Industrial Relations Department, Industrial Courts and/or Civil Courts as the physical presence of the complainant and/or litigant is necessary for the continuation of process of claiming rights.

The practice of terminating, cancellation of work visa and immediate deportation is a blatant disregard of the laws in Malaysia that exist to protect worker rights.

Work passes in Malaysia allow workers to work only for a specific employer – and hence a termination would leave the worker with no ability to work and earn a living legally in Malaysia, while he awaits the determination of the process that may give the worker justice. Cancellation of the work pass also makes his stay in Malaysia illegal, and he risk being arrested, detained and deported.

It is sad that the current laws and practices of Malaysia, which used to employ more than 2 million migrant workers have not been amended yet to ensure that workers who claim their rights are not wrongfully terminated and sent back.

Whilst there is a clear provision in the Industrial Relations Act 1967, that is section 5, which explicitly prohibits employers (or persons acting on behalf of employers) from discriminating, threatening, dismissing or acting negatively against workers who are interested in forming, joining, and/or encouraging other workers to join trade unions, there is no similar clear provision in law protecting workers who want to claim their worker rights through the Labour Departments and other available avenues. As an example, section 5(1)(c) and (d) of the Industrial Relations Act 1967is as follows:-
(1) No employer or trade union of employers, and no person action on behalf of an employer or such trade union shall -

…. (c) discriminate against any person in regard to employment, promotion, any condition of employment or working conditions on the ground that he is or is not a member or officer of a trade union;


(d) dismiss or threaten to dismiss a workman, injure or threaten to injure him in his employment or alter or threaten to alter his position to his prejudice by reason that the workman -
         (i) is or proposes to become, or seeks to persuade any other person to become,
a member or officer of a trade union; or
        (ii) participates in the promotion, formation or activities of a trade union; or…

There should be a similar clear provision in law that will prevent employers from harassing, threatening, discriminating and/or dismissing workers that claim their worker rights using existing avenues of complaints and remedies. The act of employers impeding, dismissing (or threathening to dismiss) workers who claim their worker rights should also be made an offence with a hefty fine. Workers should also receive a significant sum in exemplary damages, over and above their claim. Deterrence is needed to stop this unhealthy practice of employers violating worker rights, and preventing them access to justice.

In the case of Thu Maung, we call for the immediate reinstatement of Thu Maung without any loss of benefits.

We call on Dato' Seri Stanley Thai, Executive Chairman cum Group Managing Director of Supermax Corporation Berhad, to ensure that the wrong done by their subsidiary, Maxter Glove Manufacturing Sdn Bhd, to Thu Maung and other workers in the said company is ended, and that all workers are paid forthwith what has been wrongly deducted from their wages, monies that have wrongly been withheld returned, outstanding overtime payments, and that all legitimate claims are settled.

We call on the government of Malaysia to do the needful, including enacting laws that will deter employers in Malaysia from exploiting workers, and also protect workers that claim their worker rights from the negative acts of repercussion and/or ‘revenge’ by some bad employers.

We also call on the government of Malaysia to ensure that all migrant workers can continue to stay and work legally in Malaysia until their cases in the Labour Department, Labour Courts, Industrial Relations Department, Industrial Courts and/or Civil Courts, and appeals thereafter are completed.

Charles Hector
Pranom Somwong

For and on behalf of the following 66 organizations

ALIRAN, Malaysia
Alliance of Health Workers Philippines
Arakan League for Democracy (ALD-LA-MALAYSIA)
Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD)
Asian Migrant Centre (AMC)
Asian Migrants Coordinating Body-Hong Kong (AMCB)
Association of Indonesian Migrant Workers in HK (ATKI-HK)
BAYAN USA.
BOMSA, Dhaka, Bangladesh
BUGKOS
Burma Campaign, Malaysia
Burma Partnership
Canada-Philippines Solidarity for Human Rights (Vancouver, BC Canada)
Center for Japanese-Filipino Families
Clean Clothes Campaign -International Secretariat
Committee for Asian Women (CAW)
Communication Union of Australia (Vic Branch)
Empower, Chiang Mai
Filipino Migrant Center
Frank-Hubner-Scholl Resistance Movement of the White Rose
Free Burma Campaign Singapore (FBCSG)
Friends of Burma, Malaysia
Gabriela-Taiwan
IMA Research Foundation, Bangladesh
Institute for National and Democratic Studies of Indonesia (INDIES)
Interfaith Cooperation Forum
KAFIN-Migrante (Saitama)
Kafin Migrant Center, Japan
Labour Behind the Label, United Kingdom
MADPET - Malaysians against Death Penalty and Torture
Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC)
May 1st Coalition for Worker & Immigrant Rights, USA
Mekong Migration Network (MMN)
Migrante Aotearoa New Zealand
Migrante B.C. (Canada)
Migrante Denmark
Migrante Europe
Migrante International
Migrante-Middle East
Migrante Nagoya
Migrante Taiwan
Migrante UK.
Migranteng Ilonggo sa Taiwan
National League for Democracy [NLD (LA)], Malaysia
National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (NNIRR), U.S.
Network of Action for Migrants in Malaysia (NAMM)
PAN Asia and the Pacific
Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM)
Persatuan Kesedaran Komuniti Selangor (EMPOWER)
Persatuan Masyarakat Malaysia & Wilayah Persekutuan (PERMAS)
Philippines Australia Union
Philippine Society in Japan
PINAY (Filipino Women's Organization in Quebec)
Pusat Komas
Rights Jessore, India
Shan Refugee Organization, Malaysia
Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM), Malaysia
The Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM)
The Best Friend Library - Chiang Mai, Thailand
The Hong Kong Coalition for Free Burma Campaign
Think Centre Singapore
United Indonesians against Overcharging (PILAR)
United Filipinos in Hong Kong
Workers Hub for Change (WH4C)
YASANTI, Indonesia
ZOMI National Congress- Malaysia

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

PRM to contest as many seats as it can in next polls (Star)

Star, Monday June 7, 2010

PRM to contest as many seats as it can in next polls

 
PETALING JAYA: Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) wants to contest as many seats as possible in the next general election – even if it has to take on Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat in three-cornered fights.
Its secretary-general Koh Swe Yong said the party had no plans to negotiate with Pakatan to settle for straight fights.

“We have no links to Pakatan because PKR does not recognise us. We will try our best to avoid multi-cornered fights but if it can’t be helped, we will take on all of them,” he said after the central committee meeting here yesterday.

Koh said discussions with Pakatan to avoid three-cornered fights were not possible because PKR did not recognise PRM as a party despite a court ruling affirming its existence.

PKR had been at loggerheads with PRM ever since some of the latter’s top leaders agreed to a controversial merger between the two in 2003.

Koh also dismissed the possibility of PRM joining Pakatan, adding that “it is very unlikely that members will be agreeable to it.”

During the meeting, the central committee decided to contest seats in Selangor, Perak, Penang, Kedah, Pahang, Federal Territory and Johor in the next general election.

In the last general election, PRM contested two parliamentary seats in Johor Baru and Selayang, and two state constituencies in Johor Jaya and Stulang. They lost all the contests.

“We will be holding courses for members as part of our early preparation to face the next general election,” said Koh.

He said PRM would also stick to its own policies and programmes and would not harp on Pakatan’s shortcomings.

“We will work on the premise of those policies. We do not want to ride on weaknesses of others. We want to draw on our own strengths,” he said, adding that the party aimed to recruit more members.

Koh also said PRM would hold its congress on Nov 14, adding that it had formed a committee to decide on its agenda. - Star,