Unpaid Wages Accusations on Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co

According to the court documents and complaint filed by workers, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co is facing an accusation of unpaid wages and overtime and threats to Malaysian workers at the factory. The current employers said that the company deducted their salary and required excessive hours.

American Tire manufacturer Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co also denied access to the overseas workers’ passports. The department confirmed it had fined the company in 2020 for overworking and underpaying foreign employees. One former employee of the company said that they illegally kept his passport and got it back after 8 years.

The allegations surfaced when 185 foreign workers filed three complaints against Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co Malaysia in the country’s industrial court, two in 2019 and one in 2020, over non-compliance with a collective labour agreement. The workers claimed the company was not giving them shift compensations, annual bonuses and pay increases even though these benefits were available to the local staff, who are represented by a labour union.

Based on the details collected from the copies of the judgement published on the court’s website the court ruled in favour of the foreign workers in two of the cases last year, saying they were entitled to the same rights as Malaysian employees. The company was ordered to pay back wages and comply with the collective agreement.The lawyer said that About 150 worker payslips were submitted to the court as evidence of unpaid wages. This showed migrants are working 229 hours a month in overtime, exceeding the Malaysian limit of 104 hours. The foreign workers are claiming about $1.21 million in unpaid wage. The workers are from Nepal, Myanmar and India.

Goodyear, one of the world’s largest tire makers, has challenged both verdicts at the high court. The appeal decision is expected on July 26. The verdict for the third case, over the same issues, is due in the coming weeks.