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Tuesday, August 14, 2018

Labour Court: Undocumented worker has 'no right' to claim wages


Nona* (not her real name) has been waiting for almost a year to claim over RM30,000 in unpaid wages as a domestic helper as well as other benefits.
However, her hopes were dashed today as the Labour court dismissed her claims.
In a written order sighted by Malaysiakini, Labour director Misswandi Pardy, said the claims amounting to RM30,265.32 "shall be rejected and subsequently dismissed as a resolution to this case", citing Section 69 of the Employment Act 1955.
Nona was present at the Labour Office today accompanied by migrant rights group Tenaganita representative Joseph Paul Maliamauv and lawyer S. Devi.
It is understood that her employer was absent and represented by a lawyer.
Malaysiakini first met Nona at Tenaganita's office in Petaling Jaya last December where she had sought refuge after fleeing from her errant employer of four-and-a-half years.
With Tenaganita's assistance, a case was filed at the Port Klang Labour Office last October after negotiations with her employer failed.
No rights to file for claims
Joseph (photo) said Misswandi ruled that Nona was an undocumented worker and as such had "no rights" to file for claims at the Labour Court.
"The gist of the ruling is that she cannot file a claim in this court because she is undocumented.
"But that decision overlooks the fact that she has been employed here for over four years," he said.
Joseph, who described the decision as a travesty of justice, added that Tenaganita will file an appeal against the decision.
"Definitely we would be appealing. We are going to fight this to the end," he stressed.
'Decision paves way for further abuses'
Commenting further, Joseph said Nona's status as an undocumented worker should not be grounds to deprive her of her rights to just wages.
"For us, this ruling opens the door for Malaysian employers to continue exploiting undocumented workers.
"What they (employers) can do is, hire undocumented workers, work them to death and then throw them out, as they (workers) are not entitled to claim for their wages," he said.
Joseph also argued that a person's immigration status should not be grounds to negate them of their basic rights.
"For example, if she (Nona) was assaulted or cheated by somebody, does it mean she has no recourse to justice?," he questioned.
Finding solace in shelter
Meanwhile, Nona told Malaysiakini that she has been spending her time at Tenaganita's shelter learning basic sewing skills, as well as attending counselling sessions.
"I don't know if I will get my money," said Nona, who recounted how she had been present at the Labour Office for about seven times since last October.
She said she dreams of how the money could be of great help to her family back in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara in Indonesia, "but what if I never get it?," Nona lamented.
While employed, Nona took on a dual role as a domestic helper and a shop assistant, which is an offence under Malaysia's labour law that only allows a foreign worker to be employed in one sector as approved in their permit.
Nona said her monthly salary was RM550 a month, an amount lower than the RM700 she was promised by an agent before her departure from Indonesia.
She added that to date, she had only been paid RM9,000 in total, which was banked into an account belonging to a family member back home.
Tenaganita said that the total figure filed in the claims was based on their calculations of Nona's unpaid wages as well as other benefits. - Mkini

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