Police arrest 106 migrant workers to allegedly thwart possible protest by 5,000 workers in Muar

Rights are being violated when employers are not paying their workers minimum wages, whereby the law states that this must be paid as of January 2013. A second order came out in late December 2012 listing employers who were freed from paying the workers minimum wages in Januaru 2013 - they were required to only pay minimum wages in several months time...some in April 2013..some even later still. Thus, those not in the lease have to pay minimum wages...

And when they do not - and workers are angry, the question is where is the government (the Labour Department and the Ministry of Human Resources) - why are they not acting against such employers - meeting with aggrieved workers eensuring them that they will be paid soonest ...and the delay means what they are entitled as of January 2013 will come maybe in time... It is the ffailure of the government and the relevant enforcement authorities that has led to this ....

To give exemption to these employers now from the obligation of complying with the law will be a grave injustice to workers... 

I wonder also where is the Malaysian Trade Union Congress(MTUC) - for they represent all workers in Malaysia irrespective of whether they are members of affiliated unions or not. Should they not have been in the police stations where the 100 over migrants arrested were being held...where are they?    

Foreign workers briefly detained for planning protest in Malaysia

Souce:Xinhua Publish By Thomas Whittle Updated 18/03/2013 6:13 am in World / no comments

KUALA LUMPUR, March 17 — Around 100 Nepali workers were briefly detained by police on Sunday in the southern town of Muar for planning to stage an protest against delayed implementation of new minimum wage standard, local media reported.

Muar police chief Mohammed Nasir Ramli said policemen were deployed after receiving information that the workers had planned to gather illegally at several places in town in protest against their employers.

“We had to stop them before they gathered as they could have started a riot,” he was quoted as saying by the Star newspaper.

All the detained were released later on the day.

Foreign workers from Nepal and several other countries have staged strikes recently in Muar and other towns for the delayed implementation of new minimum wage of 900 ringgit (288 U.S. dollars) a month this year. It is reported that the new standard only applied to local employees in their factories.

The new standard introduced by the government has met with strong opposition from small businesses, who complain that the policy has greatly increased their cost. - NZWeek, 17/3/2013, Foreign workers briefly detained for planning protest in Malaysia

Polis gagalkan cubaan warga Nepal tunjuk perasaan di Muar

March 17, 2013

MUAR, 17 Mac — Polis Muar berjaya menggagalkan cubaan lebih 5,000 pekerja asing Nepal mengadakan tunjuk perasaan di tengah bandar ini tengah hari tadi setelah mereka mendapat maklumat awal berkaitan perkara itu.

Ketua Polis Daerah Muar ACP Mohd Nasir Ramli berkata kejayaan itu berikutan kecekapan polis yang berjaya mencegah mereka berkumpul sejak awal pagi di depan sebuah pasar raya di Jalan Ali di sini.

“Kita telah menahan 106 orang, termasuk mereka yang dipercayai dalang yang merancang perhimpunan itu, untuk disoal siasat sehingga 1 petang ini,” katanya kepada pemberita pada majlis penerangan khas anjuran Jabatan Hal Ehwal Khas (JASA) negeri Johor di Kuarters Polis Diraja Malaysia Kampung Kelantan hari ini.

Beliau berkata pihaknya menerima maklumat berkaitan rancangan pekerja asing itu untuk mengadakan tunjuk perasaan di kawasan tumpuan ramai pada kira-kira 11 pagi sebagai membantah kegagalan majikan membayar mereka mengikut skim gaji minimum yang diputuskan kerajaan.

Sehubungan itu, Mohd Nasir berkata beliau mengarahkan anggota polis menjalankan rondaan di bandar ini dan melakukan pemeriksaan ke atas warga Nepal yang disyaki mahu berkumpul di kawasan berkenaan.

“Kita telah menahan sebahagian daripada mereka, termasuk yang didapati tidak mempunyai dokumen perjalanan sah, untuk siasatan lanjut,” katanya.

Beliau berkata sepasukan polis antirusuhan juga diarah bersedia dengan kenderaan, termasuk meriam air, untuk berdepan sebarang kemungkinan.

Mohd Nasir berkata keadaan di bandar diraja itu setakat ini terkawal, dan tindakan memeriksa pekerja asing yang berkeliaran akan diteruskan sehingga lewat petang.

Minggu lepas, polis Muar menahan 32 pekerja Nepal yang merusuh di kilang perabot tempat mereka bekerja kerana tidak puas hati dengan jumlah bayaran tidak mengikut skim gaji minimum.

Semalam, Menteri Sumber Manusia Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam berkata kerajaan membenarkan sebahagian majikan kilang perabot di negara ini menangguh pelaksaan gaji minimum ke satu tempoh lain sehingga mereka benar-benar berkeupayaan melaksanakannya. — Bernama - Malaysian Insider, 17/3/2013, Polis gagalkan cubaan warga Nepal tunjuk perasaan di Muar