The Timber Employees Union of Peninsular Malaysia (TEUPM) said the authorities must keep a proper record of fatalities and injuries suffered by these migrant workers while they are legally employed in the country.

Its secretary-general, Nor Azlan Yaacob, said the government must take note of employers who refuse to compensate their workers and offer “lots of excuses” instead.

“There is poor overseeing of compensation being paid out to workers.

“Many families registered as next of kin have been waiting for more than two years for some good news,” Azlan said at the launch of a report titled “No Compensation, No Justice: Dead and Injured Migrant Workers in New Malaysia”.

The report is compiled by the BWI-Malaysian Liaison Council (MLC) in conjunction with International Workers’ Memorial Day today.

BWI is the acronym for Building and Wood Workers’ International, with which the Timber Employees Union of Peninsular Malaysia is affiliated to.

The report documents eight fatalities involving migrant workers and 20 serious injury cases where no compensation has been paid so far.

It also highlights weaknesses in legal protection for migrant workers.

“The government must undertake a thorough investigation into past injustices and facilitate compensation.

“Some of the employers refuse to compensate their workers and lots of excuses are given,” Azlan said.

He said many injured workers were afraid to demand compensation because they feared losing their jobs.

“When their work permits expired, they were repatriated with zero chance of redeeming fair compensation owed to them.”

Azlan urged the government to ensure that compensation is paid to the families of migrant workers who died or were injured even before the Socso employment injury scheme for foreign workers came into effect this year.

“Recent legal changes to bring workers under the coverage of Socso are making it easier for migrant workers to avail themselves of medical assistance and compensation when an injury or fatality occurs,” he said.

BWI-MLC spokesman Kamarul Baharin Mansor said the government also needs to implement a system to verify the payment of compensation to families in their countries of origin.

“This will improve the chances of family members receiving fair and just compensation for the deaths of their loved ones,” he said.

A Nepali worker, who wished to be known only as Krishna, said he lost his forearm in a machine incident while working at a factory in July last year and did not receive any compensation from his company.

Krishna, who has been working in Malaysia for nearly four years, said he lodged a police report but no action was taken.

“I was informed that I should receive at least RM17,000,” he said.