06/11/2025
𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝟵𝟯 𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗶 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗹 𝘃𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗹𝗮𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗮!
Malaysia's Shah Alam High Court has upheld over RM760,000 (US$170,000) in damages for workers who were left stranded without jobs after arriving in 2023. The court ruled that migrant workers cannot be treated as a "reserve labour pool" and must be paid from their date of arrival.
We extend our gratitude to lawyers Joachim Xavier and Sahain Nada Puthucheary for their pro bono representation. Their dedication made this outcome possible.
𝘈𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘚𝘌𝘈𝘕 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘴
This case demonstrates strong alignment with the 2017 ASEAN Consensus on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers (:
✅ Article 12 & 20: Right to file grievances and labour complaints with access to justice, and to continue staying in the Receiving State pending disposal of the case
✅ Article 13: Right to freedom of movement in the Receiving State
✅ Articles 18 & 38: Fair and appropriate remuneration
✅ Article 31: Protection from exploitation, abuse, and violence
✅ Article 43: Access to legal recourse and assistance
✅ Article 47: Recognition of employment contracts
✅ Article 57: Cooperation to resolve cases of workers who, through no fault of their own, become undocumented
𝘈 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦
Importantly, these workers were not detained or deported while their case was pending. They maintained freedom of movement and were eventually able to secure alternative employment with Maersk. This is particularly significant given that they exercised their right to "change employment" when their original employment was fraudulent from the start. Malaysia's system recognized them as workers with legitimate rights, not as irregular migrants to be detained.
𝘎𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨
Media reports reveal these workers were victims of a recruitment syndicate using fake documents to obtain quotas. While labour courts protected them, criminal prosecution failed. This highlights enforcement gaps in:
📋 Article 52: Regulating and supervising recruitment agencies to eliminate malpractices
🛡️ Article 53: Preventing trafficking and establishing systems to identify victims
💻 Article 54: Information-sharing systems to enhance policies
𝘈 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯
This case underscores opportunities for all ASEAN member states to strengthen collaboration between receiving and sending countries, in line with the spirit and principles of the ASEAN Consensus and 2007 Cebu Declaration:
🤝 Enhanced coordination on recruitment oversight
📡 Improved information-sharing between countries of origin and destination
⚖️ Stronger criminal law frameworks against fraudulent recruiters
🎓 Pre-departure orientation programmes (Article 22)
Their case shows that when labour protections are enforced, migrant workers can access justice, while also revealing where prevention mechanisms across the region still need strengthening.
𝘚𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥: 𝘩𝘵𝘵𝘱𝘴://𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘯.𝘰𝘳𝘨/𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬/𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘯-𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘴-𝘰𝘯-𝘵𝘩𝘦-𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯-𝘢𝘯𝘥-𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯-𝘰𝘧-𝘵𝘩𝘦-𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴-𝘰𝘧-𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵-𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴-2/
