Factory Threatened To Deport 60 Migrants Amid Strike Says Activist

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 Labour rights activist Andy Hall says the strike entered its third day on Sunday, with 176 workers signing a petition to their employer.
Some of the Bangladeshi migrant workers with placards stating their grievances against a glove mould factory.PETALING JAYA: A glove mould manufacturer has allegedly threatened to deport 60 Bangladeshi workers after they downed tools over unpaid wages and other grievances, according to migrant rights activist Andy Hall
He said the strike entered its third day yesterday, with 176 workers said to be participating by staying home instead of turning up for work
“The factory is not officially shut, but there is no production going on,” Hall said.
He said the workers at the factory, which supplies glove moulds to local and global glove makers, first went on strike from March 6 to 18 over arrears of salaries and overtime unpaid for months.
The company paid up after intervention by his team, Hall said, and returned the passports of about 80 workers.
The workers returned to work on March 19, but tensions escalated again when the workers demanded refunds of RM22,500 each in fees and related costs incurred before arriving in Malaysia.
Hall said the company agreed to refund the costs but only over a 12-month period, which led to a new strike on Friday. The workers demanded that future wages be paid on time, all passports be renewed, and visas extended without further delay.
He alleged that the company’s managing director had threatened to deport “not just one person” but 60, saying if they stopped work, they would all be sent back because there was no more work.
Hall said a Bangladeshi official had visited the company on Thursday and met with the workers; he had also met human resources minister Steven Sim in Putrajaya on Thursday together with another senior Bangladeshi official.
FMT has sought comment from the labour department as well as the company. - FMT

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