Grace period should not raise concerns, FMM tells migrant activist

 

The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) has responded to a migrant activist’s concern that giving employers a six-month grace period to comply with labour laws after they have brought in migrant workers risked exploitation.

“While the government has given a grace period to comply with the pre-conditions that have been excluded at the initial application stage to expedite the approval process, we believe by the time the workers are mobilised from their source country, which could easily take more than three months, employers would have to have in place the necessary compliance mechanisms with the required labour standards.

“Thus, there should be no concern of any neglect or compromise on the safety and health and overall welfare of the workers,” said FFM president Soh Thian Lai in a statement this afternoon.

Furthermore, he said industries are already mindful of adhering to the minimum wages, the minimum standards on housing, accommodation and amenities, amendments to the Employment Act 1955 which came into effect from Jan 1 as well as the indicators on forced labour.

He added that both the Home and Human Resource ministries would also step up their enforcement and inspection of employers on their management of their foreign workers.

FFM president Soh Thian Lai

On Friday, North-South Initiative director Adrian Pereira expressed concern over the move, noting that Malaysia 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 told Malaysiakini.

Pereira also cautioned that the lack of worker protections could lead global companies to rethink bringing their business into Malaysia.

Initiatives welcomed

However, Soh welcomed the initiatives, which he described as “positive”, introduced by the government to meet the immediate labour needs of the economic sectors.

“FMM believes that the window on the easing of the hiring rules introduced until March 31, 2023, to cater for the urgent labour needs is a good gesture extended by the government in recognising the urgent labour shortages of the critical sectors/sub-sectors which is impeding business operations and growth during this period of prolonged uncertainty.

“We are thankful that the application mechanism for the recruitment has remained the same where employers will continue to use the Foreign Worker Centralised Management System (FWCMS) for the end-to-end process before the application and issuance of the Visa Dengan Rujukan (VDR) by the immigration department,” he added.

Moving forward, Soh said FMM hopes there could be a more seamless process from one ministry to the other to enhance the efficiency of the system and the time taken to complete the recruitment process.

“The quick response by the Home Ministry through the immigration department to the call for the extension of the Illegal Immigrant Recalibration Plan 2.0 which will commence from Jan 27 is another positive move towards reducing undocumented workers in the country and at the same time a quicker option of getting foreign workers.

“While (FMM) members would be encouraged to take the opportunity of the window on the easing of the hiring rules as well as the Illegal Immigrant Recalibration Plan 2.0 based on their needs and affordability, they would also be reminded to prioritise safety, health and welfare of the workers,” he added. - Mkini