Migrant Labour: Aliran�s Facts �Wrong� Aliran seems to be attacking the Myanmar Employment Agency without having more concrete evidence.
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�When they arrived in Malaysia, they were shocked to find out that their take-home wages in some cases fell below RM100/month. Others have received take-home wages in the region of RM100 to RM200. This was due to a host of deductions from the workers� salaries� A huge chunk - 50 percent - is deducted to repay loans taken to finance their trip to Malaysia and pay off agents� fees and air-fare. In addition, there are other deductions: 10 percent supposedly for Burma�s income tax; and deductions for foreign workers� levies.�I would like to clarify that the 50% deduction from their salary is not used only to repay loans taken to finance their trip to Malaysia and pay off agents� fees. If that is the case the sum will be too big and is not justifiable. In actual fact, at the beginning, part of this 50% deduction will be given to their families as monthly family remittance. Once the loan is paid, the full sum of the 50% deduction will go to their families in Myanmar. This is done through the Burmese Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. With this information in mind, it is therefore wrong to imply that the workers received only RM100 or RM200 as take home wages. The 10% Income Tax is done in accordance with Burma�s labour law. The Malaysian Government�s levy deductible is RM100 per month. Furthermore, both deductions are calculated based on their basic salary, which is RM18 x 26 days = RM468 per month. If they have many hours of overtime, they should have more money in their pockets while in Malaysia. This system of deduction has its merits in that it ensures the repatriation of their hard-earned money back to Myanmar. But it has also posed some problems for the workers once they do not work overtime and their salary falls short of the RM700 promised. Aliran seems to be attacking the Myanmar Employment Agency without having more concrete evidence. This particular Agency involved in this garment factory is state-owned. As far as I know, its main concern is not to ride on the back of workers to make as much money as possible like certain private agencies. Thus far, Burma is the only country that still gives full financial loans to their workers to work in Malaysia. Workers from other source countries like Vietnam have to find their own finance. The Myanmar Employment Agency concerned actually finds itself in financial difficulty for not being able to collect enough funds to send new workers to Malaysia. It is changing this system of financing. The percentage of the workers� monthly �Family Remittance� too will be reduced from 50% to 30%. Therefore, in this particular case, it is wrong to say that the �Employment Agency had enticed the workers to come to work in Malaysia� on false salary promises. The famous RM700 per month salary is actually a guarantee obtained by the Myanmar agency for their workers after negotiating with the Malaysian employer, and is stated in their employment contracts. It is often the fault of the employers who cannot live up to their engagement, due to various reasons - one of the main reasons for subsequent industrial disputes. Of course, the inability to speak each other�s language is also a main culprit. So much for the clarification. Nevertheless, it�s true that under the present system the balance of power is tilted in favour of the employer. For example, the workers can be reprimanded and sent back to their country of origin immediately without adequate safeguards or compensation, even though the seed of the labour conflict could be sown by employers who do not respect the Malaysian Labour law and the employment contracts. Much has to be done by all parties, including relevant government authorities, to promote better labour relations between the Malaysian management and the foreign workers. This begins with the provision of good information and public consciousness. That�s what motivates me to write to participate in this debate. Chia Yong Tai 6 June 2003
Aliran Responds Deductions Galore
Someone�s getting rich and it�s not the migrant workers�
This figure is deducted from the workers� salaries over about 11 months (about RM230/month) and according to the workers the whole RM230 is used to pay off the loan. According to them, their families do not receive any money until the loan is settled. Additional RM110 Monthly Deduction For Workers� Levies In addition, the workers say they also have to bear the following expenses including foreign workers� levies imposed by Malaysia:
This amount is paid over 12 months via a deduction of about RM110/month. A further 10 Percent Deduction For Income Tax Imposed By Burma To add salt to injury, there was yet another deduction this time for income tax payable to the Burmese government. It is amazing how the workers, despite their already low take-home salaries, are expected to pay monthly income tax to the Burmese Government on top of the US$665 they had already stumped out before leaving Burma. Deduction For Security Guard These was a monthly RM5 deduction for an old company security guard who was supposed to keep an eye on the workers' belongings while they were at work. There is no provision under the law allowing the employer to make such a deduction. The Worthless Guarantee Of RM700 Minimum Wage (basic plus overtime) This guarantee is worthless as there appears to be nothing to compel the Malaysian employers to respect the employment contract signed in Burma. This allows unscruplous employers to take advantage of this loophole and get off scot-free knowing that they cannot be taken to task. The local authorities tend to say they cannot act because this matter is not in their jurisdiction as the contract was signed in Burma. It appears that the Malaysian authorities, Malaysian employers and the recruitment agents are all to be blamed because all of them probably know that there is no way the RM700 wage can be enforced here in Malaysia. How can the Myanmar Employment Agency give an assurance to the workers they will be paid RM700 in Malaysia when they jolly well know that there is nothing they can do to compel Malaysian employers to honour that assurance? In that sense, the workers were enticed with the so-called RM700 guarantee as all the other parties knew there was nothing to ensure compliance in Malaysia. This is the crux of the problem. If the workers get the RM700 they were guaranteed, then they can just about survive in Malaysia with all those heavy deductions. But if they are denied the overtime promised, the migrant workers are left with a pittance to live on after all the deductions. And there is nothing anyone here can do to compel the employers to observe the so-called guarantee made in Burma. Questions, Questions� It also raises fresh questions as to why the workers have to absorb these heavy expenses (remember the amount is all the more oppressive considering the income levels in Burma), when it is the employers (and the recruitment agents!) who benefit from the trafficking of cheap migrant labour. Why can�t the employer pay for these expenses? Why does it cost US$665 for a migrant worker to leave Burma when the airfare costs only US$185 and the small cash advance to the workers is US$30? In whose pockets does the remaining US$450 per migrant worker end up? How was the company able to make these deductions wihout the approval of the Malaysian Labour Department? And what is the Labour Department's policy in allowing companies to make various deductions. Does it warn employers to ensure that workers get a decent take-home pay? Surely it's about time for the Department to insist on a minimum take-home pay for migrant workers. These are the questions for which we would like some answers.
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