EIGHT foreign workers from India who were legally employed in a factory in Shah Alam became illegal workers when they complained to the Industrial Court claiming they were underpaid, according to Makkal Osai.

MTUC deputy president A. Balasubramaniam said the workers made the complaint when they received less that what they were promised.

Their employer immediately cancelled their work permits and classified them as illegal workers.

He said the MTUC had appealed to the Immigration Department to allow such workers to stay on pending the settlement of the case.

The MTUC would be sending a memorandum to the Home Affairs Ministry to ensure that foreign workers had their travel documents at all times, he said.

He added that the safekeeping of the documents by the employers had led to many problems being faced by the foreign workers.