Security Guard Wins RM58,000 In Claims For All The Times He Worked OT In 3 Years
The guard was also not allocated any rest days or annual leaves, and was asked to work on public holidays.
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A security guard recently won RM58,000 in claims from his employer after not getting paid for all the times he worked overtime for three years
Parti Sosialis Malaysia secretary general Sivarajan Arumugam shared Murali Vengu's story on his party's website on Wednesday, 9 February.
According to Sivarajan, Murali, who worked as a security personnel at a car workshop and insurance claims centre from 2015 to 2018, filed a compensation claim against his employer in October 2021 for all the annual leaves and public holidays that he had to work, as well as all the days that he worked overtime.
PSM secretary general Sivarajan Arumugam (left) with Murali Vengu (right).
Image via Parti Sosialis Malaysia
It is said Murali was the only security guard hired by the centre to patrol the large workshop that housed cars involved in accidents and were going through insurance claims
The employer did not hire additional security guards and had asked Murali to work from 7pm to 9am daily — an additional two hours, instead of the agreed 12 hours (7pm to 7am) that he should have been working every day.
Furthermore, Murali was not allocated any rest days or annual leaves, and was asked to work on public holidays.
When Murali had important personal matters to attend to, he often had to ask his wife to wait in the guardhouse while he completed his 14-hour shifts.
Despite all the additional time spent at work, he was only paid a basic salary of RM1,300 monthly with a petrol allowance of RM250.
Even after he quit his job in 2018, he was not paid what he was owed for the overtime he did during his tenure.
During talks to negotiate the claims, Sivarajan said Murali's former employers also tried to mislead the Department of Labour officers into thinking that payments have been made
However, further checks soon revealed that the employer had only combined Murali's petrol allowance and Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributions on paper to give the impression that they have paid Murali a large sum.
It was an attempt to prove that his claim was invalid.
When Sivarajan represented Murali at the Subang Jaya Department of Labour on Tuesday, 8 February, the former employer finally admitted that Murali was not rightly compensated, and they proposed to settle the case without going to trial.
After several negotiations, the employer agreed to pay Murali RM58,000 as the settlement amount, which is about an overtime pay of RM1,600 per month for three years.
Sivarajan said Murali is only one of many other security guards who are often taken advantage of and are cheated by their employers
He said even though overtime pay is clearly stated in the country's Employment Act, many employers still get away with not paying their uninformed employees.
"So, more security guards should make sure that their rights are safeguarded and their payroll involves the times they worked overtime," said the PSM secretary general.
He added that the working class always has the right to take action against irresponsible employers who do not properly compensate their employees.
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