MalayMail/Bernama-Feb 15
Sime Darby Plantation (SDP) will reimburse its current and former foreign workers recruitment fees totaling RM82.02 million on Feb 17, following the company’s comprehensive audits both internally and by independent organizations. According to a statement today, the group said it will reimburse 15,078 current foreign workers an aggregate sum of RM38.55 million. The workers hail from Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Additionally, SPD is also setting aside a sinking fund amounting to RM43.47 million to reimburse 19,565 former foreign workers. Group managing director Mohamad Helmy Othman Basha said that since the imposition of the Withhold Release Order (WRO) by the United States Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) in December 2020, the group has implemented the audit practices. “This entire exercise has certainly been a learning experience for us. SDP has always been proud of having industry-leading policies and practices. However, over the last year, we have learnt that there is always room for introspection and review, that improvement is a continuous journey,” he said. Mohamad Helmy said that the plantation company spent a long hard year auditing, examining and occasionally unearthing entrenched practices that needed to be improved or changed. Read more at: https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2022/02/15/sime-darby-plantation-to-reimburse-foreign-workers-rm82m-in-recruitment-fee/2041768
