Migrants not 'reserve labour pool', court says in affirming over RM760k award

Summary

• Shah Alam High Court upholds a labour court decision to award over RM760,000 in back pay to 93 migrant workers who were left stranded without jobs upon arriving in Malaysia.

• Judge Narkunavathy Sundareson says employers cannot treat migrant workers as a ‘reserve labour pool’ and that this view was “absolutely wrong”.

• She also rejects the employer’s argument that salary payments were conditional on actual work performed.

The Shah Alam High Court yesterday upheld a Labour Court ruling last year awarding over RM760,000 in back pay to 93 migrant workers who were left stranded without jobs upon arriving in Malaysia in 2023.

In her verdict, judge Narkunavathy Sundareson said employers cannot treat migrant workers as a “reserve labour pool” or a standby workforce.

“This view is absolutely wrong,” she stressed.

Narkunavathy also affirmed the Labour Court’s decision to award unpaid wages - ranging from RM2,000 to RM11,000 - to each worker.

“The terms of the contract are explicit - the workers will not be treated as stock and paid as and when they work.

“The workers will get paid from the date of their arrival in Malaysia,” she said, rejecting the employer’s argument that it was not liable to pay salaries upon the workers’ arrival.

Speaking to Malaysiakini, the workers’ counsel Joachim Xavier and Sahain Nada Puthucheary, who served on a pro bono basis, said the award includes RM120,000 for unlawful deductions for phone bills, bedding, gear and cleaning costs.

The court case is linked to a Malaysiakini exposé in November 2023, where companies used false documents to get hundreds of quotas to import migrant workers from the government.

READ MORE: Migrant worker import quota won via fake deals, then traded for millions

The employer, Aecor Innovation Sdn Bhd, had appealed against the earlier Labour Court ruling, arguing that the contracts were invalid as they required salaries to be paid before work permits were issued.

The employer also claimed the workers failed to prove their case since only seven testified while the rest relied on statutory declarations - a practice permitted under the Employment Act.

The company also alleged that the Labour Department failed to consider its defence.

‘Stay the course’

One migrant worker, who was present in court but declined to be named, said he was overjoyed with the outcome.

He also urged other migrant workers pursuing cases with the Labour Department to stay the course.

“InsyaAllah, if you don’t make mistakes in the (legal) process and with unity and our diversity, you will win the case,” he said.

All 93 workers affected have since secured jobs with the multinational shipping giant Maersk.

Migrant worker quota fraud

In 2023, Malaysiakini’s investigations found that an alleged migrant recruitment syndicate involving six Malaysian companies had brought in hundreds of migrant workers using fake documents and had exploited loopholes in the government’s system.

However, the alleged mastermind remained hidden behind shell companies or firms registered under other individuals, leaving no money trail linking him directly to the operations.

Workers from two of the six companies - Puncak Jupiter Management Services Sdn Bhd and Aecor Innovation - lodged police reports the same year.

However, the police found no evidence of cheating under the Penal Code.

Aecor Innovation was also among the six firms investigated by the police after a suspect was arrested over allegations of involvement in a migrant worker recruitment scam.

The other companies named were Star Domain Resources Sdn Bhd, QL-marketing Sdn Bhd, GTM Marketing, and Buloke Holdings Sdn Bhd (Maxim).

Collectively, the six companies had applied for more than 4,000 migrant workers but received a quota approval of 1,625 workers - who started arriving in January 2023 only to find no jobs waiting for them.

Some of the workers who had been recruited under the six companies resorted to moving around Malaysia with all their belongings like vagabonds seeking employment.

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