(a) whether the Government is aware of the ill treatment meted out to 17
labourers from Jharkhand/Bihar by their employer M/s. J.M. Power
Corporation Ltd. in Malaysia;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the steps taken by the Government in this regard?
MINISTER OF OVERSEAS INDIAN AFFAIRS (SHRI VAYALAR RAVI)
(a) & (b): Seventeen Indian nationals, belonging to the State of
Jharkhand and employed for a three year period w.e.f. 28.11.2009
by the Malaysian company M/s J N Power Construction (M) Sdn.
Bhd., complained on 22.6.2011 to Indian High Commission in Kuala
Lumpur that they have not been paid their wages since January
2011. Since the workers left their job, arrangements were made by
the High Commission for their boarding and lodging and
repatriation.
(c): The Indian High Commission has taken following steps to redress their problem:
# The High Commission Immediately (on 23.6.2011) called the employer to the Mission
premises and discussed the issue in presence of the concerned Indian nationals.
The employer agreed to settle all dues.
# With Mission`s efforts, salaries for the months of January and
February were paid by the company. But the company has
not yet paid from March onwards, despite having agreed to do so.
# Since the concerned Indian nationals refused to work with
the company, the High Commission retrieved their passports
from the employer and has kept them in its custody. The
workers are being given free boarding and lodging at the
Centre for Shelter-cum-Counseling, managed by the Indian
High Commission. All the seventeen workers have since been
repatriated to India on 16.08.2011.
# The High Commission has drawn the attention of the
Malaysian authorities (Director General of Labour of Malaysia
and the Ministry of Human Resource of Malaysia), to the non-
fulfillment of contractual terms by the company, requesting
them to intervene to amicably settle the issue, i.e., payment
of the dues and completion of repatriation formalities. It has
also sought a meeting with the Director General of Labour of
Malaysia in relation to this case.
The concerned Indian Agent, Hyderabad based M/s Razzak Enterprises, has also
been contacted by the Mission to help resolve the problem. The agent has
agreed to fly to Malaysia and persuade the employer to settle the dues and
complete departure formalities.