Govt to Cancel Quotas if Bosses Cut Foreign Workers' Wages
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According to Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M Saravanan, the government will remove the quotas granted to companies that reduce the salaries of their foreign workers to compensate for the costs of bringing them into Malaysia.
Employers must cover all costs
He stated that any employer bringing in foreign workers must shoulder all costs, including housing and airfare, so that the foreign workers incur no charges.
However, he added that the Ministry could not intervene in cases involving agents in the workers' native country.
The Minister said that employers must not bear the costs only to later replace them by lowering workers' wages. If the workers file complaints via the digital app Working For Workers (WFW), the Ministry will cancel their employers' quotas.
Saravanan made the remarks during a press conference on Friday, following the launch of the Social Security Organisation (SOCSO) Contribution Campaign for volunteers of the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF), Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM), Malaysian Civil Defence Force (APM), Malaysian Islamic Development Department (JAKIM), Malaysian Volunteer Department (RELA), and Social Welfare Department (JKM).
Malaysia to bring in Bangladeshi workers for several sectors
Meanwhile, Saravanan, who led a Ministerial team to the Bangladesh-Malaysia Joint Working Group (JWG) meeting in Dhaka on Thursday, disputed that there were demonstrations by employment agencies in Bangladesh.
He stated that he was greeted warmly and that he was able to hold meaningful conversations regarding the immigration of Bangladeshi workers into Malaysia.
He said he met with eight ministers from Bangladesh, including Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and agreed in principle to bring in Bangladeshi immigrants for various industries, including plantation, agricultural, manufacturing, and development.
At the JWG meeting, he also stated he met with his Bangladeshi counterpart, Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Imran Ahmed.
According to media reports, the Association of Bangladesh International Recruitment Agencies (BAIRA) protested Malaysia's decision to accept only 25 Bangladesh recruitment brokers on Thursday.
The Minister stated that Malaysia would continue to allow only 25 agents to recruit new employees into the country. The Ministry had formed a committee to evaluate and fine-tune 1,520 agent applications.
Saravanan noted that the entry of Indonesian employees into Malaysia, which was planned to commence on May 31, had to be postponed since Indonesia's Minister in charge had other affairs to attend to.
Source: The Edge Markets