Sabak Bernam school cleaners demand unpaid wages

 

About 40 school cleaners picketed the Sabak Bernam District Education Department this morning, due to wages unpaid for over three months, they said.

They said the wages are owed to them by their employers who were contracted to clean 16 schools in Sabak Bernam, Selangor by the Education Ministry.

The cleaners held placards demanding their wages and urged the ministry to blacklist two contractors which allegedly owe them payments since November 2021.

Other placards read: "We want permanent work through schools", "We want the companies changed", and "Abolish the contract system".

When contacted, Jaringan Pekerja Kontrak Kerajaan (JPKK) advisor V Selvam said this was a violation of the Employment Act 1955 which stipulated that employees are required to pay wages no later than the seventh day of the following month.

"A total of 53 cleaners employed by two contractors did not get their salaries and they still carried on with daily cleaning works. This is forced labour.

"The Education Ministry must act proactively, where proper audit must be conducted on these contractors to ensure the labour standard and law are being followed," he told Malaysiakini.

In a memorandum signed by the workers and a JPKK representative, the workers demanded unpaid wages and urged the government to drop the offending contractors.

"The workers only get a minimum wage of RM1,200 and they do not enjoy annual increment. Living three months without wages is putting them in a very difficult financial position.

"We have heard about two to three cases of borrowing money from Ah Long or loan sharks," he said.

Selvam, who is also Selangor PSM chief, said the workers were in the dark on the reasons behind the unpaid wages as they could not get in touch with the employers.

He also expressed anger with the district education department, which he claimed promised to meet the workers but later had its front gate locked citing compliance of Covid-19 SOPs.

"Basically, it's a hostile reaction," he said. However, he noted that the department accepted and acknowledged their memorandum.

Malaysiakini has reached out to the Education Ministry and one of the contractors for comment.

When contacted, a supervisor of one of the cleaning contractors said the company was unable to pay wages as it did not receive any allocation from the government since last November.

"I was told that the money from the Education Ministry did not go down to the district education department," said the supervisor.

"I myself did not receive my salary since November too. I cannot survive anymore," they said on condition of anonymity. - Mkini