Migrant workers' advocate lauds Ikea's nixing of security guard contract

 

North South Initiative's executive director Adrian Pereira has lauded Ikea's contract cancellation with its security guard company in Malaysia, saying that the sector is underregulated.

"It's the most underregulated sector with the highest risk of labour abuses. It's also controlled by very powerful owners who are former security personnel," he told Malaysiakini.

He said no one has really looked into this issue.

"We are not sure how the workers are represented, whether the sector is unionised or there are workers' associations. We are not even sure if the security guards qualify for minimum wage or not," Pereira added.

This came after The Financial Times reported that Ikea branches in Malaysia have severed ties with its labour provider due to a breach of policies.

Internal investigations by Inter Ikea and Ikano Retail have found that foreign security guards working at the furniture retailer had paid fees to secure jobs.

Inter Ikea oversees the brand’s franchise store and Ikano Retail runs the Ikea stores in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, and Mexico.

The probe was conducted after it was reported that migrant workers from Nepal had paid fees as high as US$1,000 (RM4,400) to obtain jobs as security guards in Malaysia.

"We must challenge the embassies and government departments which approve their hiring to see whether they are being given decent work opportunities," said Pereira.

North South Initiative's executive director Adrian Pereira

According to the report, Ikano said, “Many of the security guards working in our Malaysia business had paid recruitment fees”, which went against the company’s code of conduct.

It added that the probe had disclosed “multiple layers of subagents involved in the process in rural villages”.

“After many weeks of negotiation with our supplier, we were unable to resolve our concerns and have subsequently terminated our relationship,” Ikano said.

While Ikano declined to confirm its former supplier to The Financial Times, it said the incident was already reported to local authorities and the Nepalese embassy.

It added that a new supplier had been secured and workers will be recruited directly rather than using subcontractors, adding that it would conduct follow-up audits. - Mkini