The 93 Bangladeshi migrant workers who were duped into coming to Malaysia for non-existent jobs are now employed, says immigration department director-general Ruslin Jusoh.
Ruslin said that while some of the workers possessed temporary work permits, others were in the process of obtaining them.
“We have returned them to the employer as they have jobs now,” he said at a press conference here when asked if the workers were detained by the department.
“They were previously placed at a shelter while their employer was arranging jobs for them,” he said, adding that the workers did not break any immigration laws.
On Feb 26, home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and human resources minister Steven Sim said the Cheras-based company that had recruited the Bangladeshi workers without offering them employment would face serious legal consequences.
They said the company responsible for bringing the workers to Malaysia in November had “abandoned” them and failed to provide them with suitable accommodation or sufficient food.
Saifuddin and Sim said the company must face legal action under the Immigration Act 1959/63 for holding the workers’ passports and under the Employment Act 1955 for failing to pay them.
It will also face charges under the Employees’ Minimum Standards of Housing, Accommodations and Amenities Act 1990 for failing to provide proper accommodation, and will be investigated under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act (Atipsom) 2007.
In addition to cancelling its remaining quotas and approval letters for foreign workers, the employer would be blacklisted from applying for foreign workers in the future, Saifuddin and Sim had said.
Meanwhile, Ruslin warned employers that it was against the law for them to withhold the passports of their foreign workers, a common practice among local companies meant to prevent their labourers from job-hopping.
“Every time we conduct inspections, we find that foreign workers do not have their passports,” he said.
“Their employers are holding onto their passports, (but) that is actually an offence.”
Source: Free Malaysia Today
BDST: 1932 HRS, MAR 20, 2024
MN/SMS
