Human rights activists are demanding the Australian-based company Ansell take steps to prevent the forced repatriation of Bangladeshi workers from Malaysia by Ansell’s contractor, MediCeram.

Twenty-six Bangladeshi workers in a glove mould factory in Negeri Sembilan received tickets from MediCeram on November 18 for flights to Dhaka on November 22–23.

None want to return to Bangladesh because a conciliation hearing to contest their unfair dismissal and visa cancellations is set down for next week.

The workers have requested a new employer, rather than repatriation, so they can continue to work in Malaysia. However, Malaysian regulations do not allow foreign workers to change employer, even in cases of serious workplace abuse.

Employers can, however, consent to workers changing their boss. But MediCeram is refusing to agree, instead cancelling the workers’ visas after dismissing them over a work stoppage it had consented to.

The affected workers travelled to the Bangladesh High Commission in Kuala Lumpur on November 19 to request help to move from MediCeram’s accommodation to a safe house and avoid the deportation. They were denied assistance.

One-hundred-and-eighty former MediCeram workers, who were unfairly dismissed in late October, allege they paid large sums of money to work in Malaysia…