Malaysian staff’ lawsuit towards Dyson revived by UK courtroom

LONDON (Reuters) – Two dozen migrant staff who allege they had been subjected to compelled labour at a Malaysian manufacturing unit whereas making elements for British vacuum cleaner producer Dyson can sue the corporate in London, the Courtroom of Enchantment dominated on Friday.

The 24 staff from Nepal and Bangladesh, certainly one of whom has died and whose property introduced the case, sued Dyson Know-how Ltd, Dyson Ltd and a Malaysian subsidiary in 2022.

The claimants had been staff for Malaysian agency ATA Industrial or its sister firm and made elements for Dyson merchandise.

Their attorneys say the employees had cash unlawfully deducted from their wages and had been typically overwhelmed for not assembly onerous targets, alleging in a lawsuit at London’s Excessive Courtroom that the Dyson firms had been in the end accountable.

Dyson, whose Malaysian subsidiary cancelled its contract with ATA in 2021, denies the claimants’ allegations and argued that any lawsuit needs to be introduced in Malaysia slightly than Britain.

Final 12 months, the Excessive Courtroom threw the case out and dominated that the employees may sue in Malaysia.

However the Courtroom of Enchantment overturned that call, saying in a written ruling that London was “clearly and distinctly the suitable discussion board” for the circumstances to be heard.

“This was a procedural listening to to find out the place the principle case ought to in the end be heard,” a Dyson spokesperson stated.

“The Excessive Courtroom was proper final 12 months in its rigorously thought-about ruling that it needs to be heard in Malaysia and we disagree with right this moment’s enchantment choice,” the spokesperson added, explaining that Dyson was reviewing its authorized choices.

The corporate – based by James Dyson, the inventor of the bagless cleaner – employs round 2,500 folks in Britain, together with at its R&D centre in Malmesbury, west England, having introduced in July that it was slicing about 1,000 jobs.