Employer denies curbing workers' sexual freedom

Electronics giant Western Digital had denied terminating the contract of a worker because she is sexually active, saying that it “respects (its) employees’ rights to privacy and individual freedom”.

In a response to Malaysiakini late last night, Western Digital said that the US conglomerate would only take such action if the worker had engaged in “sexual activity within the workplace during work hours”.

“Western Digital does not monitor lawful activity that is conducted outside of the workplace. However, make visitors are not allowed within our employers’ residences... both for their safety, and out of respect for cultural norms,” it said.

Western Digital was responding to an official complaint form made to the human resources department in Kuala Lumpur by an assembly line worker, who claimed she was canned for allegedly having sex.

According to the undated copy of the complaint form made available to Malaysiakini, the worker said she was told her contract was terminated because she failed the medical check-up.

Upon further inquiry, she said that the reason for her failure was that they found evidence that she had berhubungan kelamin (engaged in sexual relations). This was refuted by the employee.

The electronics giant, said Fomema Sdn Bhd, the agency appointed by the government to conduct health screenings on migrant workers, decides employees who are pregnant or HIV positive cannot pass the compulsory medical examination.

“Under the rules set by the Malaysian government, failure to pass the medical check results in the return of the employee to their country of origin at the employer or employee’s broker’s expense,” it said.

Sent back to Indonesia within 24 hours

On a separate claim, Western Digital confirmed the complaint that a worker was given less than 24 hours’ notice before her deportation back to Indonesia, after failure to clear her medical examination.

“The employee’s supervisor failed to inform the employee. The human resources department informed her the day before her return flight. This falls below our standards of quality and compassion for employees.

“To prevent a potential reoccurrence, we are changing our process, whereby HR representatives living with employees at our employee residences will notify employees instead of the supervisor (with reasonable notice),” he said.

A study by Berlin-based organisation World Economy, Ecology and Development on migrant workers in the electronics industry in Malaysia published in December 2010 reveals the complaints raised to Malaysiakini are only the tip of the iceberg.

Poor workers’ welfare in electronics industry

The report, Migration in a Digital Age, which case-studied Nepali, Indonesian and Bangladeshi workers in two electronics factories in Penang and Selangor, found workers’ welfare in this industry to be severely lacking.

It reported that workers lived in cramped quarters and were subjected to harsh work conditions.

Some complained of having wages cut for medical leave, along with other illegal pay cuts made by their brokers, forcing some workers into prostitution in order to survive.

It also noted that this was the result of a pseudo-indentured labour system where workers have to work for up to 18 months on minimal wages to service their debts, before they could begin saving.

The report also highlighted that freedom of movement is curbed as employers hang on to the workers’ passports.

Western Digital employees have complained of harassment by enforcement agencies as they do not hold their passports and had at that point been without work permits for almost two years.

The matter was recently resolved by the Immigration Department who cited “communication breakdown” for the delay.