Nepalis working in palm plantations in Malaysia have been suffering from serious health hazards caused by pesticides. Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA), which manages the palm plantations across Malaysia, has not been providing safety equipment to the workers.

Palm plantation workers have been spraying pesticides without using masks, gloves and other safety equipment, a government report said.

“We visited Bentong, Krau 2 and Pahang sites, where Nepalis have been working without safety equipment and are in danger of facing serious health hazards,” said joint secretary at the Ministry of Labour and Employment Binod KC.

About 1,400 Nepalis have been working for FELDA, which was established in 1956 for production, processing and marketing agricultural products and livestock. The company provides orientation on safety measures while working in palm plantations but does not provide safety equipment. “Workers face a major health risk,” the report said.

Palm oil has been the backbone of the Malaysian economy since the British colonial era. Malaysia is the second largest producer of palm oil after Indonesia. The country produced 17.2 million tonnes palm oil in 2010 and production has been growing annually.

According to the Malaysian Palm Oil Board, total land area on which palm is cultivated is 5.03 million hectares until June this year, providing employment to about 600,000 people and most of them are migrant workers. About 100,000 Nepalis are believed to be working in the palm plantation sector.

Malaysian palm companies have also been cheating the Nepali workers regarding minimum wage.

According to the report, Nepalis working in palm companies, including the state-owned FELDA, are provided Ringgit Malaysia (RM) 625 (Rs 17,845) while the government approved minimum wage for 2011 is RM 900 (Rs 25,677).

The report stated that outsourcing agencies have been cheating workers while sending them for jobs in palm plantations.

Outsourcers have been charging airfare and visa fee but the services are free of cost in the sector, the report added. Nepali migrant workers at FELDA have paid Rs 90,000 to Rs 150,000 for the plantation job.

Similarly, workers in the construction, service and security sectors have also been cheated regarding service fee and salary. Most workers have paid more than the prescribed service fee of Rs 80,000 to outsourcing agencies.

The ministry had studied the status of Nepali migrant workers in Malaysia on July 19-26 this year.