Over 200 foreign workers rescued from 'appalling' living conditions in Nilai

Photo: Bernama

PETALING JAYA: A total of 226 Bangladeshi and Nepalese workers have been rescued from non-conducive living conditions at a transit home in Negri Sembilan, says V. Sivakumar.

The Human Resources Minister conducted a spot check at a dormitory in Nilai following a report from the Bangladeshi Embassy.

The dormitory was a converted shoplot housing 226 Bangladeshi and Nepali workers.

Sivakumar said he found the conditions cramped and appalling.

"The ministry has relocated all 226 workers occupying the uncertified dormitory to a centralised labour quarters (CLQ) in Bandar Baru Nilai," it said in a statement on Monday (April 10).

The ministry said that the 226 workers were part of intakes of 608 workers for four companies in the janitorial services sector and 390 workers for one company in the manufacturing sector.

This was out of a quota of 1,719 migrant workers approved for these companies.

Many of the workers, the ministry said, had yet to be put to work and some were working in a different sector from what was promised to them.

"These workers were brought in to work in the janitorial sub-sector as well as the manufacturing sector.

"However, 327 workers were still out of work and the rest had been placed in sectors they were not allowed to work in," he said, adding that a total of four investigation papers had been opened under Section 24D of the Employees' Minimum Standards of Housing, Accommodations and Amenities Act 1990.

The law stipulates that employee housing must have a certificate from the Labour Department director-general.

An employer who houses an employee in an uncertified accommodation is liable to a fine of up to RM50,000 upon conviction and a jail term of not more than one year or both.