About 800 foreign employees of HDD Technology Sdn Bhd staged a strike outside the company’s building in Kulaijaya, Johor today, throwing stones and setting a car on fire in protest of alleged mistreatment at the work place.
A representative of the strike group, 23-year old Kishor Rai, told The Star Online‘s Desiree Tresa Gasper that the company had been abusing its factory workforce on a daily basis, and the workers were not going to stand for it any longer.
“When we make mistakes, they hit us and this is just unfair.
“In fact, due to an earlier disagreement, the management even refused to send us our usual bus and we were forced to walk for about one hour to get to work,” he said.
The group of disgruntled workers converged in front of the HDD building at 9am this morning and are still protesting outside its compound.
Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) and Royal Malaysian Police personnel were dispatched to stand by the building and control the crowd. Other police officials were inside the building, communicating with the employers.
At 2.15pm, a police officer addressed the crowd of protesters with the help of a Nepali employee, who acted as translator.
The police asked the protesters to choose a representative from each country to attend a meeting with the factory’s management, while waiting for embassy officials from the Nepalese, Myanmari, and Bangladeshi consulates to arrive.
“We want to discuss your problems and come to a compromise.
“We urge you to remain calm as you are here to work and you are here to make money for your family,” said the officer.
Just last week, another factory in Johor Bahru’s Tebrau IV Industrial Area saw a mass protest of more than 1,000 foreign workers following the death of a Nepalese worker.
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