Malaysian Migrant Workers Rights – Comments by Andy Hall
Abusive migration conditions allegedly continue for this group of vulnerable Bangladeshi and Nepali workers, whom I have been reporting on in my blog, and who were brought into Malaysia back at the end of 2022 and at the beginning of 2023, after paying exorbitant migration related costs. These workers allege since their time of arrival into Malaysia they have faced unlawful detention and arrest, destitution, unemployment, debt bondage, appalling accomodation conditions, document confiscation, violence, harrassment and now finally abusive and intimidating working conditions at Ayamas, where they were placed for employment with support from Malaysian government officials. Ayamas is linked to QSR Brands, which is associated with KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants throughout Malaysia.
Migrant workers ‘threatened with deportation after complaints’
Original Article: Free Malaysia Today by FMT Reporters – 3rd September 2023.
An activist says the workers at a chicken processing factory were threatened after authorities intervened following complaints about working conditions and delayed.
A migrant rights activist has alleged that more than 200 Bangladeshi and Nepali labourers working at a chicken processing factory in the Klang Valley are being threatened with deportation.
Andy Hall said the threats were made by the factory management after authorities intervened when they were alerted to poor working conditions and delayed salary payments.
“The workers were asked to gather at the canteen and told that they should not be communicating any issue outside of management,” he told FMT.
He alleged that the management demanded to know those responsible for relaying information to outsiders, and “issued threats of deportation if such communication persists”.
Hall said the Bangladeshis working at the receiving area were only recently provided with protective equipment, such as masks, goggles and plastic aprons.
Previously, they had been exposed to unsanitary conditions involving faeces and blood. “Some chickens were still alive and began flapping as they were being slaughtered,” he said.
He said the labourers finally received three months’ pay after the authorities intervened, but still do not have their passports which they were told were being kept by the factory management.
FMT has sought comment from the human resources ministry, the labour department, and the factory concerned.
The Bangladeshis were part of a larger group that FMT reported as being left stranded after they arrived for work in Penang in December, only to be left without jobs.
The workers said they were sent to a factory in Johor Bahru by the Bangladesh high commission in April but their bus was told to turn back after two hours.
They were then placed in a dormitory in Subang Jaya, which had only one toilet, and placed to work at a chicken processing factory
QSR Brands denies migrant worker mistreatment at chicken processing factory
QSRB brands company response can be found here,
The company cites due adherence to safety standards and collaboration with authorities in their response.
