"Malaysian court sides with forced labour victims over unpaid wages", 30 July 2019

An undocumented domestic worker has the right to pursue her claim for unpaid wages in Malaysia, a court has ruled, setting a legal precedent migrant rights groups said would help protect human trafficking survivors.

In a landmark ruling...a high court in Malaysia said an Indonesian domestic worker who was not paid for nearly five years can pursue her case after it was dismissed earlier by labour authorities because she did not have a work permit.

"This is a precedent for all undocumented workers," Ms Glorene Das, executive director at Kuala Lumpur-based migrant rights group Tenaganita....

"With this precedent, there is hope for undocumented workers to seek redress in court. They are workers who have been exploited in trafficked and forced labour situations," she said by phone.

...The Indonesian woman...sought about 30,000 Malaysian ringgit (S$9,963.67) in unpaid wages at the government's labour department and then a labour court, but both rejected her case.

She lodged an appeal with a high court last year, which ruled...that it was "premature" for the claim to be thrown out based on the work permit status....

The court also ordered the case to be fully heard.