The Malaysian Church is fighting for justice for migrant construction workers whose companies allegedly deducted amounts from their salaries illegally.

The Penang Diocesan Migrant Ministry, with the help of two Catholic lawyers, is looking into the cases of 270 Indonesian and Myanmar construction workers who complained that such deductions have been going on for several years.

The total amount deducted by two construction companies apparently amounted to more than 1.3 million ringgit (about US$140,000).

The companies made those deductions to pay government levies even though they were aware that this was not permitted after April 2009, said Joachim Xavier, a migrant ministry officer.

Malaysia’s Immigration Act 1959 stipulates that employers may lawfully deduct amounts from migrant workers’ salaries to pay the annual government levy on such workers.

These range from 360-1,800 ringgit per year.

However, in April 2009, the government, in an effort to discourage recruitment of such workers, announced that employers must now pay the levy themselves.

Xavier said the two construction companies, besides making illegal deductions after April 2009, had been deducting more than the permitted amount before that.

The diocesan ministry had filed a complaint at the Labour Department in Penang on July 12, after which the department arranged for a meeting between lawyers for the two parties.

However, the planned July 19 meeting did not take place.

“Now our lawyers and their lawyers are still negotiating,” said Xavier. “If negotiations fail, we will bring this matter to trial and the employers will have to pay the full claim. We will also push for the employers to be prosecuted.”

Some workers were also dismissed after voicing their grievances, said Xavier. “We are now working with [two parishes] to mobilize welfare aid in the form of food supplies” to help them, he said.

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ML10724.1613