Are we bent on perpetuating forced labour?

 

From P Ramasamy

Forced labour in a broader sense is the exploitation of human beings by other human beings.

Such exploitation takes place at all levels of society, but forced labour is used to explain the exploitation of labour or the working class by those who own and manage companies, factories and generally workplaces.

Such a phenomenon is not something new, having started way back when men learnt to exploit the labour of others in return for payment in cash or kind.

However, the nature and manner of exploitation of labour changed with political, economic and social developments.

The struggle of the working class was paramount in checking the severity of their abuse by those who owned the means of production.

While the modern capitalist enterprises recognise the critical value of labour in the production process, this is not so with establishments that rely on labour that is controlled, cheap, malleable and coerced.

This is what is termed as forced or unfree labour.

Forced labour cannot be removed by the application of the International Labour Organization guidelines or by asking the US embassy to intervene.

Forced labour cannot be removed in a matter of days, months or years.

It will last as long as the value of labour is not recognised or major steps are not taken to address the critical lack of talent in the country.

It will last as long as the economy does not move in the direction of capital deepening and there is more reliance on labour value or talents.

Yet, the Malaysian government is either ill-advised or seems indifferent to the sad and tragic plight of forced labour.

Plantations, factories and other establishments that require cheap and malleable labour are the culprits that perpetuate the system of forced labour.

These establishments are here to stay for the long term.

Rather than taking some concrete steps in addressing the phenomenon of forced labour, the government seems more interested in taking steps to increase the recruitment of foreign labour from countries like Indonesia, Bangladesh and Nepal.

I am sure once they are in the country, they would be parcelled off to plantations and factories that require their labour for long hours but pay them a pittance in return.

Are we moving in the direction of removing forced labour or are we bent on perpetuating the system of forced labour? - FMT

P Ramasamy is a Penang deputy chief minister.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.