KUALA LUMPUR, July 22 — Human Resources Minister Steven Sim today issued a terse warning to the Johor-based bus company whose workers went on strike yesterday, vowing action on claims the firm had allegedly violated labour laws by cutting drivers’ wages.
Sim said the same operator had been under Labour Department scrutiny for some time for having breached the Employment Act in the past — and this latest allegation may have been the last straw that would prompt swift and stern punishment.
“I want to give a warning to this particular company: Do not play with our Employment Act. This is not the first time this company has a case,” the minister said while delivering a speech at the launch of World Bank’s report on inclusive employment practices here.
“We had an operation, I think, last week or two weeks ago, and they [had not] complied with the Employment Act so we are initiating investigation against them under this Act.
“So don’t play the fool with our workers,” he added.
Thousands of Malaysian workers commuting to Singapore were affected yesterday after some 100 shuttle bus drivers to the republic went on strike starting at 5am.
Berita Harian reported that Malaysians and other visitors to Singapore were stranded at major bus stops as well as the Sultan Iskandar Building.
Out of options, some workers opted to walk over the border along the Johor Causeway.
A bus driver told the paper that the strike was due to unhappiness over wage cuts, claiming that the bus company involved had cut their salaries by nearly a third.
Previously, the driver who only wished to be known as Atoi said, bus drivers were earning around RM2,800 to RM2,900 but were now being paid less than RM2,000.
