Construction industry board helping duped foreign workers find jobs

 

The Construction Industry Development Board says it wants to help foreign workers duped into coming to Malaysia for non-existent jobs.

PETALING JAYA: The Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) says it is helping the government secure work for foreign workers who have been duped into coming to Malaysia for non-existent jobs.

FMT previously reported that certain groups were allegedly abusing contractor licences issued by CIDB to facilitate the recruitment of foreign workers for “non-existent” jobs, especially in the construction sector.

In response, CIDB told FMT it is collaborating with the labour department to conduct inspections on contractors who had employed foreign workers from Jan 17 to March 18 last year, the last period for which they were allowed to enter the country.

“CIDB is also assisting the labour department to find suitable employers in the construction industry for foreign workers who have been left abandoned by their former employers,” it said.

The issue has been in the spotlight since 171 Bangladeshis were arrested in Pengerang, Johor, last month, when marching to file a police report after claiming they were deceived into paying high recruitment fees back home for non-existent jobs in Malaysia.

At a press conference on Tuesday, human resources minister Steven Sim said the 171 were part of a larger group of 751 Bangladeshis who were tricked into going to Pengerang after thinking they had jobs waiting for them.

They have since filed a RM2.21 million claim for unpaid wages from their employers, with their case set to be heard at the Pengerang district labour office on Feb 5.

Papsma, the national association of private employment agencies, previously told FMT how some workers were brought into the country by an employer with a CIDB licence.

Its secretary-general, Kelvin Cheong, said a company which had approval to bring in 280 foreign workers for construction work illegally outsourced them to other companies that had insufficient foreign worker quotas.

In its statement, CIDB, which is a regulatory body overseeing the employment of foreign workers in the construction industry, stressed that contractors must comply with all the requirements under the CIDB Act and other related laws surrounding foreign workers.

CIDB said it has implemented an electronic monitoring system to keep track of all registered construction workers in its Centralised Information System (CIMS).

“This initiative requires contractors to regularly update the status of their registered workers, including whether they are still actively working, have absconded, returned to their home country, or are deceased,” it said.

“Contractors failing to provide this necessary information may face consequences such as being denied access to CIMS and unable to use the system for other purposes.” - FMT