KUALA LUMPUR – The government should review the new proposal to allow companies to hire foreign workers on condition they pay to repatriate undocumented migrants, said the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers.
The federation called on the government to engage with relevant stakeholders to come up with a more workable solution to address the current labour shortages faced by some industries.
In a statement today, its president Tan Sri Soh Thian Lai said FMM welcomed the government’s announcement, but viewed the conditions imposed on this relaxation as “very restrictive and would tremendously tax employers financially amidst the industry’s business recovery and other regulatory compliances”.
Soh said small and medium enterprises should also be allowed to bring in new workers as larger companies need the support of SMEs in their supply chain to support their operations.
He also said the industry should not be made responsible to cover the cost of deportation of illegal foreign workers who had entered the country via illegal channels.
“Employers are not responsible for the illegal stay of these workers and thus should not be burdened with their repatriation, as those who bring in foreign workers via the proper channels are already paying towards bank guarantees of between RM250 and RM1,500 per worker (to cover repatriation cost should the worker abscond).
“Imposing additional conditions on employers during current challenging business conditions would be very damaging to industries already struggling with many other cost challenges, as well as labour issues in their recovery process,” Soh said.
He also said that while the industry was supportive of the government’s decision to allow sourcing workers from the pool of illegal workers currently in the immigration depot, it was important that it was managed well.
“Allowing such a legalisation process will have some negative consequences. There will still be the tendency for these workers to abscond after they have been legalised due to the poor tracking system of workers.
“It could encourage unlawful job hopping among the legal workers too. In this regard, it is proposed that the government allow for the legalisation and reemployment of these workers without any additional cost to the employer except the cost for work permits, passports and visas; and to allow employers to filter and screen workers before they make a decision,” he added. – Bernama, December 15, 2020
