Shah Alam: 70 Nepali workers get the sack

A furniture company in Kampong Subang Shah Alam allegedly dismissed 70 Nepali laborers for demanding an increase in wages.

15 laborers have been made to return Nepal on Thursday and 15 others will be returning this coming Friday.

The furniture company claimed that the remaining 40 laborers will also be sent home to Nepal within the next few days.

About hundred and fifty Nepalese laborers started a strike citing reasons that the daily wages of foreign laborers working at the said company was increased from RM21 to RM22 a day with the exception of  Nepalese labourers.

However the company claims that only the wages of laborers working for more than 2 years were increased while the Nepalese labourers are yet to complete the 3-year working contract.

The company then decided to deport all Nepali labourers who were involved in the protest at their own expense.

Milan Thapa of Pyuthan a worker at the company claimed that the company only increased the wages of laborers from Bangladesh and Myanmar from RM21 to RM22 a day.

However the wage of Nepalese laborers was limited to RM21.

Thapa said, “We are working at same place. They are foreigners and we are too.

“Why is the an increment to their wages but not ours?

“Therefore we united and started to protest since October 8, 2012.”

The Nepal embassy in Malaysia made an attempt to verify the problems faced by the Nepali labourers on October 10, 2012.

The officials of the embassy explained that those workers from Bangladesh and Myanmar were working there for long period of time.

It was found that the wages of Nepalese working for the same duration as the Bangladeshi and Myanmar workers too were increased. Also, upon recommendation of their supervisor, other increases were made.

The contract of most of the protesting workers were yet to expire.

An official at the Nepal embassy in Malaysia Amal Kiran Dhakal said that it is not practical or legal to protest before the end of the contract tenure.

“I tried to convince our workers that it is not right to protest now.

“The company itself will increase the wages after the time come but they refused to listen.

“They are still protesting. It is not legal and practical,” said Dhakal recommending that the protesting labourers return to work.

“If Nepali workers continue to protest company has right to take the steps to deport them.

“We even can’t help in the matter,” he said.