QSR Brands denies migrant worker mistreatment at chicken processing factory

 

QSR Brands insists that the chicken processing facilities run by its subsidiary, Ayamas Food Corporation, maintain strict safety procedures and adhere to good manufacturing standards.

PETALING JAYA: QSR Brands has denied allegations of migrant worker mistreatment levelled at Ayamas Food Corporation Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary that manages a chicken processing factory in the Klang Valley.

In a statement to FMT, the food technology company asserted that all Ayamas facilities maintain strict safety procedures and adhere to good manufacturing practice standards, citing over two decades of experience.

“This is especially true for employees with any contact with the product. They are given industry-standard protective gear that includes masks which are certified and compliant with prevailing guidelines,” the company said.

QSR Brands acknowledged there had been delays in the payment of salaries to its workers, but attributed them to the processing time taken to secure work permits and complete employer transfers as required by the human resource ministry.

As a solution, QSR Brands said it applied for permission to pay the salaries in cash and had already advanced to its workers half-month salaries to enable them to meet their immediate spending needs. The company said it paid all salaries in full by the end of August.

On Sunday, FMT reported a migrant rights activist’s allegation that more than 200 Bangladeshi and Nepali labourers working at a chicken processing factory in the Klang Valley were being threatened with deportation.

Andy Hall said the threats were made by the factory management after authorities intervened upon being alerted to poor working conditions and delayed salary payments.

Hall said the workers in the receiving area, particularly the Bangladeshi employees, were exposed to unsanitary conditions involving faeces and blood and lacked proper protective gear.

They also only received three months’ worth of salary after the authorities intervened.

In its statement, QSR Brands said it conducts regular engagement sessions with its workers. One session involved workers being briefed on employment rules and regulations.

“This was a normal information-sharing session and should not have been misconstrued as a direct or indirect form of threat,” it said.QSR added that it had worked with the human resource ministry to employ the foreign workers after they had been left stranded without the jobs promised to them by others.

“We have been working very closely with the ministry, the immigration department and the Bangladesh High Commission,” the company said. - FMT