JOHOR BARU: More than 1,000 foreign workers have allegedly refused to go to work for more than 36 hours at a mechanical component factory here following the death of their Nepalese colleague.

The drama unfolded on Thursday where the workers, mostly from Nepal, threw metal pieces and glass to the ground from their four-storey accommodation quarters next to the factory in Jalan Firma 3 at the Tebrau IV industrial area here as a sign of protest.

It was learned that the strike was to show their dissatisfaction due to the death of a Nepalese worker who had died of chest pains on Thursday due to the factory’s alleged negligence.

Checks by The Star found that the workers were still refusing to go to work on Saturday and there was no clear reason as to what they wanted from their employers.

A representative from the factory denied that they had neglected the deceased’s initial complaints of chest pains and had given him medical leave earlier to recover.