Set clear procedures to prevent abuse of quota approvals, govt told

 

Human resources minister V Sivakumar says quota approvals for foreign workers should never be used to replace existing local staff.

PETALING JAYA: Well-defined procedures and proper monitoring are necessary to ensure employers do not terminate the services of local employees after obtaining quota approval to employ foreign workers, says former human resources minister Dr S Subramaniam.

He said employers must prove that they have exhausted all avenues in hiring local workers before resorting to the employment of foreigners.

“Previously, in the human resources ministry, employers had to provide evidence that they had searched through government portals or put out advertisements for local workers.

Dr S Subramaniam.

“Only if they have been unsuccessful can they attempt to employ foreign workers to fill the vacancies,” he told FMT.

This comes after human resources minister V Sivakumar warned that the quota approval obtained through the foreign workers’ employment relaxation plan would be revoked if they were found to have sacked their local workers.

Those found to have committed the offence under Section 60M of the Employment Act 1955 were also liable to a fine of RM50,000.

Sivakumar said the ministry had received many complaints of companies sacking local workers after their applications for foreign worker quotas were approved.

The latest involved the dismissal of 102 employees in Penang, he said, quoting Bernama. The company has since been ordered to take back the local employees.

Subramaniam said there must be clear-cut procedures to stamp out abuse of the foreign workers’ quota, including a proper monitoring mechanism.

However, he said there were some jobs that Malaysians might not want to take up because they were looking for better pay or work more suited to their qualifications.

“Unless the jobs themselves undergo some kind of transformation through automation or utilisation of technology, it is possible that we could reduce the dependency on foreigners in these areas and fill them up with more skilled and educated Malaysians,” he said.

Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MICCI) executive director Shaun Cheah said employers did not wilfully sack local workers “as a general rule”.

“The labour courts will handle such cases if employees are unjustly let go,” he said.

He also agreed that many Malaysians did not want to take up dirty, dangerous and difficult (3D) jobs, which foreign workers were willing to do to earn money.

On Thursday, Malaysian Employers Federation president Syed Hussain Syed Husman said it supported Sivakumar’s warning of action against employers, adding that local workers should be prioritised to fill vacancies. - FMT