Resolve migrant worker pay issues to avoid economic jeopardy, says ex-MP

Kawaguchi Manufacturing Sdn Bhd has agreed to pay RM3 million in back wages to 251 Bangladeshi workers with arrears payments set to begin in January.

PETALING JAYA: 

Former MP Charles Santiago has warned that the country risks drawing unnecessary global attention and jeopardising its exports if it fails to address issues involving unpaid wages to migrant workers.

His comments came in the wake of reports that over 250 migrant workers at Kawaguchi Manufacturing Sdn Bhd—a plastics supplier for companies like Sony, Panasonic and Daikin—are owed their salaries.

Charles Santiago.

The company has since agreed to pay RM3 million in back wages to 251 Bangladeshi workers following accusations of forced labour. The settlement, reached after months of negotiations, will see arrears payments commence in January next year.

However, Santiago said that the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, set to take effect next year, will require businesses to ensure their supply chains are free from forced labour and modern slavery.

He said a failure to address these labour violations could see Malaysian products banned from the EU market and may spook investors, which would in turn impact the economy.

“We need to fix these problems fast, especially with the EU’s new rules coming. If we don’t act, it could hurt our exports and scare away investors.

“The government needs to be more proactive and show the world that we take these issues seriously,” he told FMT.

Santiago, an outspoken advocate for migrant worker rights, welcomed Kawaguchi’s settlement but criticised the government for its delayed response.

“The government waits too long to act. This hurts the country’s reputation and makes us look bad globally. The human resources ministry should be more proactive,” he said.

Santiago said migrant workers enter the country having borrowed large sums of money at high interest rates to pay recruitment fees. Salary delays would trap them in debt, he said.

Unfair to make workers wait a whole year, says activist

Separately, independent migrant worker rights specialist Andy Hall described the government-mediated settlement as “offensive and inadequate”.

Andy Hall.

He said workers would have to wait one month to receive the first instalment payment and an entire year for full payment.

Hall called on the companies associated with the factory to assist in resolving the matter, saying they had derived benefit from the migrant workers’ work.

“These conglomerates must step in to remediate the workers in line with international business and human rights standards,” he said.

The Port Klang labour office had previously said it would keep tabs on all settlement payments. - FMT