Revamp foreign worker system to end monopoly, forced labour: Santiago

KUALA LUMPUR – Former Klang MP Charles Santiago has urged the government to revamp the entire foreign worker recruitment system in order to dismantle the monopoly of syndicates and the cycle of forced labour practices.

Speaking to The Vibes, Santiago said a complete overhaul of the recruitment process is needed to avoid power brokers from profiteering at the expense of employers and workers.

“The problem is that the people bringing workers into the country are all part of a syndicate. They make money from the employer and they also profit from the workers,” he said when contacted.

“If the government is interested in trying to resolve the problem in favour of employers and workers in Malaysia, and to address the issue of forced labour, it must revamp the entire process.”

Santiago said most importantly, the government must cease using the current Bestinet portal, which administers the government’s migrant management system.

Currently, the system requires workers to spend about RM300 for a health screening and an additional RM100 to register with the system, although the costs are supposed to be borne by Malaysian employers.

Santiago said such a system should be fully controlled by the government, and not run by a private vendor.

I don’t understand why the government is using a labour broker (to handle the system). It makes no sense.

“Change it completely and fix the costs, as part of zero recruitment costs for workers, the government must establish the costs of bringing them here.

He also suggested that permits for the workers can only be renewed if employers have no controversies regarding their workers.

“Labour brokers must go through a scrutiny process done by a third party that is outside the government,” he said.

There are some civil servants who are also involved in the syndicate.

In breaking the involvement of civil servants in the syndicate, Santiago suggested the intake of foreign migrants be handled by the Prime Minister’s Department, instead of the Home Ministry and Human Resources Ministry. 

Yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the government is looking at ways to allow migrant workers to be employed in Malaysia without the use of agents that impose high fees.

Anwar said all states will monitor workers presently in the country to ensure that they are given sufficient facilities to work legally in Malaysia.

“For example, Nepalese (workers) are only charged RM3,700 (to work in Malaysia), but they (the charges) can reach up from RM20,000 to RM25,000 for Indonesians and Bangladeshis,” Anwar told a press conference after holding a cabinet meeting in Putrajaya.

“We will be paying attention to this matter. If their (workers’) wages were increased, I would have no problem, but if the charges imposed by the agents are too exorbitant, this would not help as it would lead to abuse or modern slavery.”

Anwar’s announcement comes several days after Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the government may bypass the allegedly overly convoluted and monopolistic recruitment system for Bangladeshi workers and initiate a fast-track system.

According to The Business Post earlier this week, Saifuddin expressed his dissatisfaction with the recruitment process for Bangladeshi workers during his meeting with the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies delegation in the capital yesterday, sources said.

Meeting the delegation on Saturday, Saifuddin addressed issues such as health screenings, auto-rotation for recruitment agencies, and the lack of e-visa processing centres, which had contributed to the problems in bringing workers to Malaysia.

With the proposed changes, the Malaysian government is looking to make the process similar to other source countries such as Nepal.

Through the fast-track system, Malaysia can bring up to 550,000 Bangladeshi workers into the country.

The meeting also saw the leaders complain about various weaknesses in the current recruitment system, which are being compounded by monopolistic and corrupt practices.

On January 10, Saifuddin said employers will now be allowed to bring in migrant workers from 15 source countries based on their capability and need, without needing to fulfil the previously imposed conditions for hiring and quota qualification.

This temporary solution means that employers can obtain approvals as soon as three days from the submission of their application for the workers.

The relaxed rules come amid the entry of Bangladeshi workers to Malaysia being monopolised by two power brokers, with calls growing for an open system that no longer limits the number of recruitment agencies. – The Vibes, February 11, 2023