Around 700 Nepali workers at a Malaysian company have halted work in protest of a move by the management. The workers have accused the company, Maxter Glove Manufacturing, of arbitary deduction of salary and causing them troubles without valid reasons. The protest has brought the company’s operations to a halt since Thursday.

The workers said that the company had fined them between 500 and 1,000 ringgit for having food outside the company’s hostel. “We have been forced to eat food that we Nepalis are unaccustomed to,” said Raj Kumar Kunwar from Udaypur. He said the hostel ex-ploited employees serving them with inferior quality food that too was limited to only 700 gm.

The company has been deducting 180 ringgit a month for food from each worker’s salary. Seventy-one workers were fined for having food outside the hostel, according to the workers. The company detained those workers who complained against the practice, seizing their phones and deporting them citing health problems in medical reports.

Irate workers even accused the Nepali Embassy of turning a deaf ear to their problems despite their repeated pleas. “People from the company’s management told us that they have acquaintances at the Nepali Embassy and lodging any complaints there would be futile,” said a protesting worker.

The workers have demanded the company reimburse the deducted amount, give a freedom to choose food and improve the hostel management.

On Sunday, Nepali labour attaché to Malaysia Amal Kiran Dhakal visited the company to learn about the workers’ problem. Dhakal, who also held talks with the employers, said a meeting would be held between the workers and the company management in the presence of embassy representatives. He said the company had claimed to have fined workers to make them obey the rules.

“Going out for food takes a longer time as workers have to cross the road,” said Dhakal quoting the company people as saying. “We made the provision for workers to have their meals inside the hostel, while considering to save time and their security. Some of the workers were fined for smoking inside company.”

The company that produces gloves employs 900 workers, including 200 from Bangladesh. Nepali workers had been supplied to Maxter through a Nepali recruiting agency, Lucky Human Resource Solution, Lalitpur.