Foreigners told not to Delay Reporting Unpaid Ssalaries

Labour Laws: Shariful Bahri Hj Sawas (R), assistant labour commissioner delivering his talk on Labour Laws during the Anti-Corruption Bureau and Labour Department talk held at the Indonesian Embassy in Kg Sg Hanching yesterday.Syazwan SadikinBANDAR SERI BEGAWANMonday, July 14, 2008DELAY by foreign workers in informing enforcers at the Labour Department over non-payment of salaries has resulted in the accumulation of $12,000 worth of claims over the past 46 months. Hj Rosli Matnoor, senior labour inspector at Labour Department highlighted this during a joint-lecture with Anti-Corruption Bureau held at the Indonesian Embassy yesterday."The delay in foreign workers lodging complaints causes a longer time needed to investigate the issue," said Hj Rosli.According to the senior labour inspector, a majority of the complaints comes from Indonesian workers regarding incomplete working contracts which were not approved by the Labour Department.He added that part of the issue arose from the difficulty in understanding the English language in the contract.He urged all Indonesian workers to visit the Labour Department offices to get an explanation on the terms and conditions of their contracts.On the subject of salaries, Hj Rosli said that it was a must for employers to make payments within the time frame stipulated by the law. He urged foreign workers to lodge a complaint to the Labour Department once 10 days have passed and payment has not been received. They can notify the department through the hotline at Tel No. 2381848, a visit to the Labour Office or by way of a written letter.Another issue that was becoming a worrying trend was the salary cuts imposed on foreign workers. According to Hj Rosli, new employees did not receive any money for the first six months of their employment as their salaries have to be paid to their agencies.Hj Rosli said that this trend was against the 1954 Labour Law, where S.223 LA 1954 (1) states that there was to be no deduction of wages of the workers. He added that at least 50 per cent of the salary must be paid to the employees and urged that anyone experiencing such deductions to lodge a report with the Labour Department to avoid any future issues from arising.The lecture by the Labour Department was on the key features of the Labour Laws and discussed by Shariful Bahri Hj Sawas, assistant labour commissioner. The topics had also included a discussion on legal matters, claims, non-payment of wages and other labour issues.According to Shariful, the new Employment Orders will be introduced later this year or early 2009. The Order which is in its final drafting stages promises to promote better working conditions for various categories of labour as well as protecting the rights of workers.According to Budi Perianto, deputy chief of the mission at the Indonesian Embassy, about 39,383 Indonesians (10 per cent of Brunei's population) are employed in Brunei, mainly as domestic helpers or construction workers. The Brunei Times