GEORGE TOWN – Migrant workers should be educated on their employment rights and avenues to seek help amid allegations of mistreatment, abuse and fraud.
Three experts in the labour and employment industry voiced their concerns in an online workshop organised by Mypatriot Penang over the weekend.
They agreed that migrant workers often face abuse from local employers, citing examples of the plights faced by Indian nationals seeking employment in Malaysia.
They also expressed concern over the abuse of migrant workers, especially Indian nationals working in barbershops, restaurants, textile shops and the scrap metal industry.
Kalidas Ramasamy, founder and CEO of MyJobstek, said the government should run orientation programmes in countries where most of Malaysia’s foreign labour are from to educate potential workers on local laws, culture and community sentiments.
“The migrant workers must be educated to demand appointment letters from the employers, which state their salary, position and scope of job. If their employers violate that, the workers can then proceed to file a claim.”
He also suggested the Human Resources Ministry monitor migrant workers to ensure employers comply with the Employment Act to ensure worker safety, security and health.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation’s Penang chapter deputy chairman Datuk K. Pulayanthran suggested migrant workers with grievances lodge police reports for immediate action.
“It is difficult to act against errant employers after the affected employees leave the country,” he said.
The idea of the workshop was mooted after an Indian national restaurant worker related his experienced being tortured by his employer in Selangor to a Chennai TV channel about two weeks ago.
Meanwhile, Penang Hindu Endowment Board executive director Datuk M. Ramachandran said many Indian nationals who seek employment in Malaysia also end up being bullied by Malaysian Indians.
He said the workers often lack proper accommodation, are given low wages, no off or leave days and work long hours.
Ramachandran, a trade unionist, was the former executive secretary of the Penang division’s Malaysian Trade Union Congress for 14 years.
He added that migrant workers are denied medical benefits, including medical leave and, in some cases, are forced to bear their own medical expenses and are threatened to resume work despite being sick.
“In most cases, foreign workers are not told of their jobs as they do not sign any contracts or agreements, or their salary, job specifications or industry that they are brought in to work for.
“Many brought here on the promise of a supervisory job have ended up as servers in restaurants, or workers in the plantation and agriculture sectors,” he said.
The panellists also alleged that the Indian High Commission is not helpful when workers turn up to lodge reports of abuse and violence.
They said labour abuse is a long-standing problem that does not affect only Indian nationals, but also workers from Bangladesh, Indonesia and Nepal, and should be addressed quickly to safeguard the image of the nation. – The Vibes, June 28, 2021
