MEF Wants an End to Exploitation of Foreign Workers Recruitment

Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan, executive director of Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) said that the exploitation of foreign workers recruitment for profits which benefits only certain parties should be stopped immediately.

He said the number of foreign workers in this category, which now stood at more than 4 million, is worrying as it is way greater than the total number of documented foreign workers of only 2.2 million.

“We could become millionaires if we venture into the foreign worker recruitment sector due to all this commercialisation but it has to stop since the intent of the recruitment is to fill out job vacancies not to make profits in business.”

Stop hiring illegal immigrants

Last May, MEF urged all employers to cease the hiring of illegal immigrants immediately and surrender such illegals in their employ to the state to control the spread of Covid-19.

Shamsuddin also said the government should not prosecute the illegal workers and instead should repatriate them to their home countries. He added that it takes time to go through the process of charging illegal workers while it would cost taxpayers money to hold them in detention centres.

He also suggested that the government should increase the monitoring of illegal foreign workers since they don’t have medical records and do not receive medical benefits.

He also said that legal foreign workers have medical insurance provided by their employers and also covered by Social Security Organisation (Socso), which could cover the cost if a worker falls ill or needs to be hospitalised.

 
Most foreign workers are employed in the construction sector.

Accommodation for foreign workers

Shamsuddin said employers could not afford to improve the living conditions of workers during these challenging times. 

He added that forcing employers to obey the law on minimum housing standards right now could force many to cease their operations. 

“Employers are (obliged) to provide safe and healthy living conditions to all the legal foreign workers, but some employers right now are facing severe financial constraints due to the Movement Control Order,” he said.

Source: BERNAMA

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