Malaysia and US have agreed to form a joint committee comprising the Ministry of Human Resources and the US Customs and Border Patrol, this move has been viewed positively by all parties, especially by the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities.
Minister Datuk Hajah Zuraida Kamaruddin said this is a move in the right direction to resolve this long outstanding issue that has unfairly plagued local industries, in particular palm oil and rubber.
While thanking the Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan for securing the commitment from the CBP she added that during her working visit to the US from May 11 to 16, the ministry will be following this up closer with the relevant US authorities to urgently resolve it. And is confident an amicable resolution is within reach in the near term.
Zuraida says with regards to the matter of forced labour allegation, most of the claims made by NGOs and other interest groups were not verified by the US authorities, which then resulted in Malaysian palm oil and palm oil products being banned. This is grossly unfair to the local industry. She said the Government has taken various initiatives to monitor and prevent forced labour and has pledged to eradicate forced labour and child labour through ratification of ILO Fundamental Convention no. 29 (Forced Labour) and Convention no.182 (Worst Forms of Child Labour). In addition, Malaysia has ratified Convention no.98 (Collective Bargaining), Convention no.100 (Equal Remuneration) and Convention no.138 (Minimum Age) and Convention no.131 (Minimum Wage). These conventions provide useful guidance in determining Malaysia’s obligations with respect to the protection of the rights of foreign workers.
Currently, Malaysia is also embarking on the BRIDGE Project with ILO, aimed at supporting government efforts at combating forced labour under Protocol 29 (Supplementary Protocol to Convention 29) as guidance on measures to eliminate all areas of forced labour (prevention, protection of victims and access to justice) Malaysia has conducted a comprehensive study on The Labour Situation in Palm Oil Plantation Sector in Malaysia in 2018. The findings of the study have been sent to the United States Department of Labour (US DOL) and released as a public document.
On 19 November 2021, the Government of Malaysia agreed to ratify the ILO Protocol 29 which is the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930, as well as Malaysia’s participation as a Pathfinder country under the SDG Alliance 8.7 as part of the ongoing effort to eradicate forced labour in Malaysia.
Zuraida elaborated that the Government through Ministry will continue to ensure that the country’s commodity industry, which is one of the main contributors to the country’s economic recovery after Covid-19, will continue to be protected from misleading propaganda from various quarters.
