Suhakam urges govt to make labour MOUs public

 

Suhakam has called on the government to make public the contents of bilateral agreements signed with source countries for migrant workers.

This is towards a more transparent system that addresses issues of labour exploitation.

Suhakam commissioner Jerald Joseph said allowing stakeholders to scrutinise agreed terms will improve compliance by employers and allow for better monitoring of any breach in promised protections.

"Any document in secrecy would not benefit you and me.

“It should not be a privileged document when it comes to matters of workers' rights," said Jerald (above) during a press conference at Suhakam's headquarters in Kuala Lumpur today.

Malaysia in recent months signed separate bilateral agreements with Bangladesh and Indonesia to reopen labour markets with the two countries.

However, so far, there have been no new arrivals of migrant workers to Malaysia officially.

The full versions of both documents have been leaked by industry sources although Human Resources Minister M Saravanan previously said the government has never made public any MOUs signed.

He was responding to questions raised over Malaysia's deal with Bangladesh signed last December.

Similarly, the MOU with Indonesia as shared by industry players revealed a new minimum wage of RM1,500 for a domestic worker, but Saravanan told Utusan Malaysia last week the starting pay will be as low as RM1,200.

He also reportedly declined to clarify his statement which appeared to be a direct contradiction to the wage level that has been agreed upon by both countries.

Human Resources Minister M Saravanan

Jerald said Suhakam calls on the government to ensure a seamless recruitment process with minimal involvement of third parties linked to debt bondage among migrant workers.

Suhakam’s Complaints and Observations Committee also provided updates on forced labour in the plantation and manufacturing sectors.

For five years from 2017 to 2021, Josef said the committee received 4,510 complaints, of which the highest amount (1,139) related to issues of citizenship.

Refugees kept in Immigration depots

Meanwhile, Joseph said Suhakam found there are Rohingya refugees kept in the Immigration Department’s custody since 2020 with no access given to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) for identity verification.

"The Immigration depots are not long-term prisons.

"Suhakam has always requested if there are any Rohingya refugees, please do not keep them there," said Joseph.

While the exact number of refugees detained is unclear, Suhakam's observation tallies with monitoring by rights group North-South Initiative that there are refugees who have been in Immigration detention for over a year.

In a written parliamentary response to Seputeh MP Teresa Kok, Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin recently revealed there are 16,986 migrants in 18 Immigration Department depots nationwide as of March 22, of which 12,383 are men, 3,188 women, 777 boys, and 638 girls.

From the total figure, 10,383 undocumented migrants had been in detention for less than six months, 2,427 between six and 12 months, while the remaining 4,176 have been detained for over a year. - Mkini