Media Statement 11/6/2010

STOP PENALIZING WORKERS WHO WANT TO GET JUSTICE

- MAXTER GLOVE SHOULD REINSTATE BURMESE MIGRANT
WORKER WHO COMPLAINED TO LABOUR DEPARTMENT

We, the undersigned 65 organizations, groups and networks, concerned about

migrant and worker rights, are appalled at the treatment of workers at Maxter Glove
Manufacturing Sdn Bhd (229862-H), at its factory at Lot 6070, Jalan Haji Abdul
Manan, 6th Miles off Jalan Meru, Klang, Selangor, Malaysia.

We are appalled at the dismissal of Thu Maung, a Burmese migrant worker, who
courageously lodged a complaint at the Labour Department to claim his rights as a
worker. Claiming worker rights by lodging complaints against errant employers at
the Labour Department is the proper and legally recognized procedure in Malaysia. It
is very wrong for employers to discriminate against and/or terminate workers who
are exercising their legal rights. It is also wrong for employers to discourage and/or
threaten workers from seeking justice, when worker rights are being violated.

Maxter Glove Manufacturing Sdn Bhd is a subsidiary of Supermax Corporation

Berhad. Maxter Glove Manufacturing Sdn Bhd is a gloves manufacturer that makes
Latex Powdered Examination gloves, Clorinated & Polymer Coated Latex Powder
Free gloves, Nitrile Gloves and Sterile surgical gloves which is also exported overseas.
Supermax Corporation Berhad is an established company, that according to their
2009 Annual Report made an after-tax profit of about RM126 million.

On 23rd March 2010, Thu Maung and another Burmese migrant worker from Maxter
Glove Manufacturing Sdn Bhd lodged a complaint at the Subang Jaya Labour
Department. Their complaints, amongst others, was that the employer:-

a. had wrongfully deducted levy, that employers have to pay when they employ
migrant workers, from the workers wages,
b. had unlawfully deducted the medical check-up fees of RM1000 from the
workers wages,
c. had wrongfully withheld 2 months wages,
d. had failed to provide the migrant worker with accommodation,
e. had not been giving the workers one rest day per week,
f. had made the workers work overtime(sometimes up to 13 hours per day), and
also on public holidays and rest days, and had thereafter failed to pay
overtime wages and wages for working on rest days and/or public holidays at
the statutorily stipulated rates.

On 23rd March, Thu Maung and another had also lodged a complaint at the
Malaysian Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM).

On 12 April 2010, Thu Maung went again to the Labour Department in Rawang and
gave a detailed complaint, whereby the Rawang Labour Department did record the
complaint and forward the same to the Labour Department office in Port Klang,
because they said that the Port Klang Labour Office, has the requisite jurisdiction
since the employer, Maxter Glove Manufacturing Sdn Bhd, is in Klang.

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According to Thu Maung, after about 1 month since the lodging of the complaint at
the Subang Jaya Labour office, companys representatives started intimidating
workers individually by asking them who had complained to the Labour Department,
and whether they were also going to complain to the Labour Department. This form
of intimidation of workers is deplorable. This kind of actions by employers has the
tendency of instilling fear and preventing workers from claiming their legally
recognized labour rights.

On 28 April 2010, Thu Maungs supervisor at the company, for no reason, suddenly
asked him to return the workers pass and not to come back to work. Thu Maung was
wrongfully terminated, and he verily believes that this was done just because he had
complained to the Labour Department, and was perceived as the leader of the
workers who wanted to claim their rights.

It is even worse when the worker is a migrant worker, for a termination will usually
mean a cancellation of the work visa, and deportation back to their home country.
This also would mean that they would not be able to even pursue their claims at the
Labour Department, Labour Courts, Industrial Relations Department, Industrial
Courts and/or Civil Courts as the physical presence of the complainant and/or
litigant is necessary for the continuation of process of claiming rights.

The practice of terminating, cancellation of work visa and immediate deportation is a

blatant disregard of the laws in Malaysia that exist to protect worker rights.

Work passes in Malaysia allow workers to work only for a specific employer and
hence a termination would leave the worker with no ability to work and earn a living
legally in Malaysia, while he awaits the determination of the process that may give
the worker justice. Cancellation of the work pass also makes his stay in Malaysia
illegal, and he risk being arrested, detained and deported.

It is sad that the current laws and practices of Malaysia, which used to employ more
than 2 million migrant workers have not been amended yet to ensure that workers
who claim their rights are not wrongfully terminated and sent back.

Whilst there is a clear provision in the Industrial Relations Act 1967, that is section 5,
which explicitly prohibits employers (or persons acting on behalf of employers) from
discriminating, threatening, dismissing or acting negatively against workers who are
interested in forming, joining, and/or encouraging other workers to join trade
unions, there is no similar clear provision in law protecting workers who want to
claim their worker rights through the Labour Departments and other available
avenues. As an example, section 5(1)(c) and (d) of the Industrial Relations Act 1967is
as follows:-

(1) No employer or trade union of employers, and no person action on

behalf of an employer or such trade union shall -

. (c) discriminate against any person in regard to employment,

promotion, any condition of employment or working conditions on the
ground that he is or is not a member or officer of a trade union;

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 (d) dismiss or threaten to dismiss a workman, injure or threaten to
injure him in his employment or alter or threaten to alter his position
to his prejudice by reason that the workman -

(i) is or proposes to become, or seeks to persuade any other

person to become, a member or officer of a trade union; or

(ii) participates in the promotion, formation or activities of a

trade union; or

There should be a similar clear provision in law that will prevent employers from
harassing, threatening, discriminating and/or dismissing workers that claim their
worker rights using existing avenues of complaints and remedies. The act of
employers impeding, dismissing (or threathening to dismiss) workers who claim
their worker rights should also be made an offence with a hefty fine. Workers should
also receive a significant sum in exemplary damages, over and above their claim.
Deterrence is needed to stop this unhealthy practice of employers violating worker
rights, and preventing them access to justice.

In the case of Thu Maung, we call for the immediate reinstatement of Thu Maung
without any loss of benefits.

We call on Dato' Seri Stanley Thai, Executive Chairman cum Group Managing
Director of Supermax Corporation Berhad, to ensure that the wrong done by their
subsidiary, Maxter Glove Manufacturing Sdn Bhd, to Thu Maung and other workers
in the said company is ended, and that all workers are paid forthwith what has been
wrongly deducted from their wages, monies that have wrongly been withheld
returned, outstanding overtime payments, and that all legitimate claims are settled.

We call on the government of Malaysia to do the needful, including enacting laws

that will deter employers in Malaysia from exploiting workers, and also protect
workers that claim their worker rights from the negative acts of repercussion and/or
revenge by some bad employers.

We also call on the government of Malaysia to ensure that all migrant workers can
continue to stay and work legally in Malaysia until their cases in the Labour
Department, Labour Courts, Industrial Relations Department, Industrial Courts
and/or Civil Courts, and appeals thereafter are completed.

Charles Hector
Pranom Somwong

For and on behalf of the following 65 organizations

ALIRAN, Malaysia
Alliance of Health Workers Philippines
Arakan League for Democracy (ALD-LA-MALAYSIA)
Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD)
Asian Migrant Centre (AMC)

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Asian Migrants Coordinating Body-Hong Kong (AMCB)
Association of Indonesian Migrant Workers in HK (ATKI-HK)
BAYAN USA.
BOMSA, Dhaka, Bangladesh
BUGKOS
Burma Campaign, Malaysia
Burma Partnership
Canada-Philippines Solidarity for Human Rights (Vancouver, BC Canada)
Center for Japanese-Filipino Families
Clean Clothes Campaign -International Secretariat
Committee for Asian Women (CAW)
Communication Union of Australia (Vic Branch)
Empower, Chiang Mai
Filipino Migrant Center
Frank-Hubner-Scholl Resistance Movement of the White Rose
Free Burma Campaign Singapore (FBCSG)
Friends of Burma, Malaysia
Gabriela-Taiwan
IMA Research Foundation, Bangladesh
Institute for National and Democratic Studies of Indonesia (INDIES)
Interfaith Cooperation Forum
KAFIN-Migrante (Saitama)
Kafin Migrant Center, Japan
Labour Behind the Label, United Kingdom
MADPET - Malaysians against Death Penalty and Torture
Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC)
May 1st Coalition for Worker & Immigrant Rights, USA
Migrante Aotearoa New Zealand
Migrante B.C. (Canada)
Migrante Denmark
Migrante Europe
Migrante International
Migrante-Middle East
Migrante Nagoya
Migrante Taiwan
Migrante UK.
Migranteng Ilonggo sa Taiwan
National League for Democracy [NLD (LA)], Malaysia
National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (NNIRR), U.S.
Network of Action for Migrants in Malaysia (NAMM)
PAN Asia and the Pacific
Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM)
Persatuan Kesedaran Komuniti Selangor (EMPOWER)
Persatuan Masyarakat Malaysia & Wilayah Persekutuan (PERMAS)
Philippines Australia Union
Philippine Society in Japan
PINAY (Filipino Women's Organization in Quebec)
Pusat Komas
Rights Jessore, India
Shan Refugee Organization, Malaysia

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Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM), Malaysia
The Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM)
The Best Friend Library - Chiang Mai, Thailand
The Hong Kong Coalition for Free Burma Campaign
Think Centre Singapore
United Indonesians against Overcharging (PILAR)
United Filipinos in Hong Kong
Workers Hub for Change (WH4C)
YASANTI, Indonesia
ZOMI National Congress- Malaysia

For further information, please contact Charles Hector (chef@tm.net.my or

easytocall@yahoo.com ) or Pranom Somwong (Bee) (p_somwong@yahoo.com) at 019-2371
300, or Tun Tun at 016-2980784