Malaysia is one of Asia's biggest employers of foreign labour. But recently, cases of deaths, abuse and forced labour have come to light. What is going on? Who is protecting these migrant workers?
Manjit Kaur, 45, started work in a company in 1983 as an office administrator and later as a personnel and administration manager. On May 31, 2000, she was deemed redundant after the company was acquired, and was given a 24-hour termination notice.
<P>In June the same year, she filed an unfair dismissal complaint with the IRD. Last
December, she finally heard from the IRD – that the minister had decided against
referring her case to the Industrial Court.</P><P>Manjit asked the department
to substantiate the decision but it replied that under Section 20 (3) of the Industrial
Relations Act (IRA) 1967, the human resources minister was not obliged to explain
his decision.</P><P>The Act states that the minister has the final say whether
to refer a case to the Industrial Court.</P><P>Manjit told theSun the ordeal of
trying to seek recourse through the IRD was most "frustrating". She
could take her case to the civil court, but it would be too costly.</P><P>IRD
director-general Md Yunus Razzaly said Manjit’s case was one of 6,000 which the
department tried to clear since he took over in 2002.</P><P>"Now, we will
try to clear all the new cases within six months," he said, adding that the
ministry’s legal department was short of manpower.</P><P>Asked if the policy of
not giving a reason lacked transparency, he said: "Don’t worry. If there
is merit, we certainly will refer the case."</P><P>Lawyer Edward Saw, who
is familiar with industrial relations cases, said the only option is to ask for
a judicial review of the minister’s power.</P><P>"Our decision-makers do
not have to be accountable to the public about how they exercise their discretion.
So are we being ruled by a tyrant?" he asked, adding that complainants should
be given a reason on the rule of accountability.</P><P>Saw said based on his experience,
it is quite "common" for a complaint filed with the IRD to take two
to three years to clear.</P><P>Labour Resource Centre director Tian Chua said
waiting for six years was "outrageous" although the IRD has a lot of
cases to deal with. "They take a very long time to process a case. So they
don’t give timely protection to those in need," he said.</P><P><B>WHAT THE
LAW SAYS:</B></P><P> • A worker who feels he/she is unfairly dismissed can
make a claim for reinstatement with the IRD. The claim must be filed within 60
days of dismissal.<BR> • The IRD will convene conciliation meetings between
the employer and employee to settle the matter.<BR> • If no settlement is
reached, the industrial relations officer will report to the minister, who is
empowered to decide whether to refer the case to the Industrial Court.</P>
<P>source: Industrial Relations Act</P>
<P><I>Source: http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=16769</I>
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