The company reached the decision five days after the workers held a peaceful protest to demand their owed wages.
Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) representative Ethaya Kumar, who represented the workers, told FMT that the plastics company agreed to settle the arrears after a five-hour mediation at the labour office today between a group of workers and the company’s representatives.
“I’m happy that these workers’ issues with their employer have been settled. At least now they got the confirmation that they would get their pending salaries.
“On Dec 24, we will go to the company’s office to sign an agreement based on the mediation’s outcome today and if they fail to comply with it, the matter can be brought to the High Court,” he said.
Ethaya explained that based on the mediation agreement, the company agreed to cover the cost of the flight tickets for 25 workers who wished to return home to Bangladesh, pay the immigration fines of RM500 for each person, and give them RM1,500 each in cash.
The company will also bank-in their owed salaries at RM1,000 each month from April until October 2025, and settle the remaining balance in November 2025.
For the rest of the workers, they will get paid RM1,000 next month, and RM1,000 each month from April to October 2025. The remaining balance will be paid in November 2025.
Ethaya said the Putrajaya labour office would also arrange for these workers to work for other companies.
Earlier, around 200 workers, with the majority of them from Bangladesh, held a peaceful protest outside the labour office while flashing placards that read “pay our wages, families are starving”, among others.
They gathered outside the labour office as early as 8am and waited patiently under the scorching heat.
The gathering today followed the previous protest held outside Kawaguchi’s factory in Port Klang on Dec 13, involving around 250 workers.
The workers had complained about unpaid wages totalling over RM800,000 since May.
Kawaguchi is reported to be a supplier of components to Sony, Panasonic, and Daikin. The three firms said in September they were looking into allegations of delayed salary payments, forced labour practices, and human rights violations at the company.
Previously, the New Straits Times reported that the labour department opened eight investigation papers against the company and accommodation providers for the overdue salaries and the lack of certification for their accommodation facilities.