KUALA LUMPUR – Courier service J&T Express has apologised to its customers over the actions of its workers who violently hurled parcels during a staff protest that broke out at one of its warehouses recently.
In a statement, the company clarified that it had not deducted wages of its employees, which was allegedly what caused the uproar among the staffers.
The apology came after a video of the protest went viral on social media today, showing some anguished staff members throwing parcels about.
The company said the incident, which took place at one of its collection centres in Perak on February 4, attracted the attention and discussion of the public.
“First of all, we express our deepest apologies to all Malaysians. Everyone’s opinions and suggestions have been truly accepted and adopted by the company,” the company said.
“J&T has been fully committed to localisation development, continuously improving employee compensation and benefits, and promoting the development of Malaysia’s social economy and e-commerce industry.
“We are committed to building a complete compensation and benefits system to increase employee benefits.”
The Perak branch of the company also posted a video on its Facebook account showing employees making a public apology over the incident, which had angered customers concerned about their items being mishandled.
The company explained that it had recently given employees year-end bonuses after “comprehensive consideration”, and in accordance with rules and regulations regarding bonuses as well as with the Malaysian Labour Law, where full bonuses are to be paid to employees who have worked for a year.
It said that for employees who have worked for less than a year, bonuses were paid according to the length of working time “without prejudice”.
“Unfortunately, certain employees were not clear on the bonus payment scheme, which led to the violent sorting of packages on February 4, inciting some employees to make collective disturbances and post the videos on social media,” it said.
“Our Perak management has immediately handled and clarified the incident.”
The company said on February 5, the employees resumed their usual positions and actively sorted and processed the packages of customers.
J&T Express added that it did not “deduct or owe employees a penny of wages”, and is willing to accept supervision and inspection by the public and authorities. – The Vibes, February 7, 2021