PUTRAJAYA: All 751 Bangladeshi workers who were left stranded in the country without jobs in Pengerang recently have filed a claim for RM2.21mil in unpaid wages from their employers, says the Human Resources Minister.
Steven Sim said the case would be heard at the Pengerang district labour office on Feb 5.
"Under Section 69 of the Labour Act, the claim has been made to the company's director and the manager and the case mentioned has been fixed on Feb 5.
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"Usually, we would require for the case to be heard at the Labour Court (in Kuala Lumpur) but due to the workers’ circumstances, it will be heard in Pengerang instead," he told the reporters here on Tuesday (Jan 16).
Sim said the government’s stand was that the offence that was made by the company was serious and the employees deserved their pay despite the situation.
Last month, a group of 171 foreign workers were detained after staging a walk in Pengerang, demanding their employers to pay their wages.
The men had since been released from detention.
Earlier, the ministers attended the Third Joint-Meeting between the Home Ministry and Human Resources Ministry on Migrant Workers Management, here.