Friday, May 29, 2009

4 workers dead - Employer? According to law, dependents get RM25K only if...

Tell me about the 4 workers (migrant workers) who died...

Tell me about their family/dependents...

Tell me their names...

Tell me whether they are documented workers (or undocumented workers) - tell me who their employer is... [Why is the name of their employer not being reported in the media? Is he connected to powerful persons? Did the employer cut corners to save money - and was this the cause of this accident?]

Tell me whether the Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya (MBPJ) was doing their job to ensure that the demolition work was done with the adequate safety equipments...and in a safe manner. (The MBPJ headquarters is only about 2 kilometers from the accident site...)

Tell me whether the Occupational Health and Safety officers had visited the site before the collapse and ensured that the required Occupational Health and Safety standards were met - or are they only NOW coming there..

Are these workers under the Workmen's Compensation Scheme - do they have the required additional insurance as required by Workmen's Compensation (Foreign Workers' Compensation Scheme)(Insurance) Order 2005.

The dead worker, under Workmen's Compensation (sec.8) would get RM18,000 or sixty months wages, whichever is less. [But there is this odd proviso in section 8, that says that if the deceased did not leave any dependents, then only amount for the funeral or RM1,ooo, whichever is less - really odd]

Under the insurance, for death he also gets..."....a sum of seven thousand ringgit in the event of death of a workman from personal injury sustained in an accident which arises out of and in the course of his employment..."

Therefore, the family and dependents of the dead migrant worker will get RM18K + RM7K = RM25K [Is this JUST - I think not...and believe that this figure needs to subtantially be increased taking into account the increased cost of living (and inflation)] What about the expenses of family members coming over, cost of getting the body transported back for burial, etc...

What if these are undocumented workers? What will their dependents and family get...?

Search and rescue personnel have uncovered the remains of the fourth victim from the rubble of the collapsed Jaya Supermarket building in Petaling Jaya this afternoon.
MCPX

At about 3am, the body of the third victim was discovered.

jaya supermarket building collapse 290509 04The three were among nine workers who were trapped when the five-storey building collapsed after demolition works went awry yesterday evening.

Two of the workers, all of whom are believed to be Indonesian nationals, are currently undergoing treatment at the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre.

Yesterday, Petaling Jaya district police chief Arjunaidi Mohamad said all nine victims were on the ground floor at the time of the incident.

He added that firemen used a skylift to assess the safety level of the affected building before the search and rescue team could enter it.

Meanwhile, Deputy Housing and Local Government Minister Lajim Ukin said initial investigation indicated that the structure might have collapsed due to overloading as heavy machinery were used in the demolition work. - Malaysiakini, 29/5/2009,
Stop-work order issued as death toll rises


RM25 K may really not be sufficient for the family/dependents to pay off the debts incurred in coming over to Malaysia - all that agent fees, etc...

1 comment:

saji said...

Tell me whether the demolition works were carried out based on an approved Method of Statement for Demolition Works