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The settlement amount was not disclosed but is understood to be significant, according to reports.
More than 250 Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia who were reportedly left without pay for months will receive financial compensation, following a settlement between Panasonic and International Rights Advocates (IRAdvocates).
According to Free Malaysia Today (FMT), the workers had not been paid for seven months last year by their former employer, Kawaguchi Manufacturing, a supplier to Panasonic. The settlement amount was not disclosed but is understood to be significant, according to the FMT report.
The settlement was reached by Japanese multinational Panasonic and the watchdog group International Rights Advocates (IRAdvocates), which took up the workers’ case.
As cited in the report, Terrence Collingsworth, founder and executive director of IRAdvocates, said Panasonic had provided financial assistance, including reimbursement of recruitment fees workers said they had paid. He added that Panasonic was monitoring whether Kawaguchi fulfils the unpaid salary payments promised to workers and commended the company for auditing and taking corrective action after the allegations.
In December, Kawaguchi had reportedly agreed to pay over RM3mn in overdue wages, with the labour office in Putrajaya helping to arrange new employment for the affected workers. The decision came days after the workers staged a peaceful protest outside the Port Klang factory to demand their pay.
However, workers alleged the company only made the first instalment of RM250,000 before defaulting on the rest.
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