The working conditions of 156 staff rescued from a bird’s nest factory in Klang have been described as “hell on earth” by none other than Immigration director-general Mustafar Ali, who was present during the multi-agencies operations in March.
At the time, many of the workers told Malaysiakini that all they wanted to do was to go home to Indonesia and never return to Malaysia again.
Since then, more than five months have passed and questions were raised as to why charges were only brought against their employer - Maxim Birds Nest Sdn Bhd - under the Employment Act 1955 and the National Wages Consultation Council 2011.
The Selangor Labour Department had named the company as a defendant in the case involving 11 Indonesian employees, involving 105 counts of alleged labour law infringements, which was first heard at the a magistrate’s court in Klang on June 15...