Giving employers a grace period of six months to comply with labour laws only after they have brought in migrant workers will open up risks of exploitation, said a migrant rights activist.
North-South Initiative director Adrian Pereira was responding to a statement by Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail who said on Jan 17 that such conditions include paying minimum wage.
Pereira (above) said Malaysia already has a poor record of protecting the rights of migrant workers, including documented evidence of trafficking and forced labour.
“If we are relaxing the criteria and compliance mechanism, naturally we’re going to put the workers at a higher risk.
“We have a bad track record. We failed to repair many aspects of the recruitment process and now you’re saying let’s relax the criteria,” he said to Malaysiakini today.
Saifuddin also said joint enforcement by the Home Ministry and Human Resources Ministry, as well as relevant agencies, will be carried out after the six-month period expires.
To this, Pereira said that rather than allowing employers to recruit migrant workers urgently, the government should ensure employers comply with the basic requirements instead of inspecting only six months after the workers have been hired.
“Basic checks like whether the recruitment agents are listed, whether they are licensed, whether they collect recruitment fees according to the law, their working conditions.
“Those things need time (to check) and those initial stages of recruitment are always the most crucial point and a deciding factor whether the migrant will have rights throughout his whole stay in Malaysia,” Pereira said.
He also said the government should not compromise on the matter, arguing that businesses had enough time during the Covid-19 pandemic shutdown to make preparations for once they resume operations.
“Now they are given another six months to comply. In six months, many things can happen, even human trafficking, accidents, workers can be sold to other companies.
“We really need to be stern and not compromise on this.
“This will also have an impact on unemployed Malaysians so we should not keep postponing reforms.”
Malaysia may lose out
Pereira also cautioned that the lack of worker protections might cause global companies to rethink bringing their business into Malaysia.
“We are doing a great disservice to the local workers and global labour reforms, and this will give a massive dilemma to the supply chains and brands operating in Malaysia.”
Meeting global standards on labour rights protection is important, he said, adding that companies are now looking at meeting various environmental, social, and governance requirements.
Describing the latest announcement by Saifuddin as a step back for labour reforms, he reiterated the call for migrant worker recruitment to be placed under the Human Resources Ministry instead of the Home Ministry. - Mkini
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