The labour and civil matters involving a group of stranded Indian workers who have sought shelter at a Sikh temple in Melaka will be addressed by the state Labour Department and the court within the next two weeks.

Nor Hisham Nor Hashim, chairperson of the Bar Council legal aid centre in Melaka, said the claims filed at the Melaka sessions court on Sept 22 are for non-payment of overtime, unlawful deduction of levy and for reimbursements of unpaid salaries owing to the 27 workers.

A total of 29 workers had their services terminated abruptly in mid-August by Technointan Holding Sdn Bhd, a Melaka-based concrete piles manufacturer.

The workers also alleged that the company had breached the terms of their employment contract.

Company mum

The contract purportedly stipulates a monthly salary of RM600, six-day week, overtime claims, an undertaking to pay the work-pass charges and levy, and that the workers' passports would not be withheld without their consent.

An attempted deportation by the company failed after the workers fled to a Sikh temple seeking temporary refuge. The group of workers, mostly from Andhra Pradesh, are still there.

The company has refused to comment on the matter.

Nor Hisham said the civil claim is for the payment of the balance wages contracted for three years and for the one month notice prior to termination.

"Since the workers signed a three-year employment contract, the company would have to settle the sum for the remaining period even though they were terminated after six months.

"We filed a certificate of urgency for an early mention date and it has been set for Oct 14 and 15, involving three batches of 27 workers."

On the labour issue, Nor Hisham said the second hearing will be on Oct 15 as stated in a letter from the department.

"The first hearing was on Sept 24 but we did not receive any notification, so we were not present."

No gov't help yet

When contacted, a legal aid committee member, Jaspal Singh, said the workers are still surviving on charity from temple patrons.

"We had asked the state government and relevant departments to help sustain the workers or provide them temporary employment until the case is settled, but there is no news yet."

On Tuesday, the Bar Council legal aid committee met with Indian High Commissioner Veena Sikri in Kuala Lumpur to discuss ways of preventing a recurrence of similar dilemmas faced by Indian migrant workers in the country.

Its chairperson Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera, when contacted in Penang, said they will be meeting with the other embassies who are the traditional source of migrant workers to Malaysia, such as Nepal, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Indonesia.

"We will make our recommendations to the Human Resources Ministry, which entails a proper mechanism to monitor and act on frequent abuses and exploitation of migrant workers."

He said currently, the system was prone to abuse because employers were able to arbitrarily sack their foreign workforce and send them home without being caught.

"Currently, there are two cases in Melaka involving about 60 workers with another 70 entangled in a case in Penang," he added..

"The recruitment of migrant workers need to be strictly enforced and the procedures tightened further."

Weaknesses identified

He said these were among the weaknesses in the recruitment process, both in India and Malaysia, that were identified during Tuesday's brainstorming session.

"For example, India requires a standard employment contract for a monthly wage of RM600 and a briefing of workers' rights that must be signed and endorsed by an officer (the protector of emigration) before a visa is issued.

"But upon arrival in Malaysia, the workers are made to sign another contract for RM350 a month, the work of agents who bypass the official channels for an average fee of RM8,000 and promises of high wages."

Vazeer said the agents on both sides were the real culprits who abused the system and workers.

"We are looking at how such abuses can be prevented and how to tighten certain recruitment procedures."

He said the high commission was working on a government-to-government basis to minimise such exploitation.