Dear A.S.S. Editor
Yet another case of an injured foreign worker who was owed money by his boss, but even though the Courts asked his employers to award damages to him, he is unable to claim his money till today.
News reported that injured Bangladeshi construction worker Sujan Ahmed was awarded by the Labour Court a victory over his employers, as they were told to compensate him for permanent injuries he suffered after a fall in May 2015. However, the company, Ridgeway Marine and Construction refused to make good on the $9,145 owed to the injured worker. Sad thing is, this is the second case that have been reported this past week, and in both cases, it looks like the injured worker can only claim victory in name, but no money will ever be paid to them. The employers will get away without having to pay moneys owed, and MOM cannot do much about it. This exposes a gap in the protection of workers against employers who leave them uninsured, refuse to compensate them for injuries, or owe them their salaries.
Even though the MOM said they had facilitated the partial payment, why can't more be done? Is Labour Court powerless to stop employers from disregarding their verdict? And shouldn't insurance for all workers be made compulsory? There is certainly a gap, MOM should seriously look into. And offer more to help the inured workers.
T. Paul
A.S.S. Contributor
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