In the context to the plan to relax the employment of foreign workers, which came into force yesterday, the Ministry of Human Resources (MOHR) said it was solely to speed up the application and approval process for the employment of foreign workers in critical sectors with the involvement of the two ministries, namely MoHR and the Home Ministry.
MOHR Minister V. Sivakumar said: “I would like to urge employers to note that although flexibility will be given for the purpose of expediting the approval of foreign worker quotas, aspects pertaining to requirements imposed by the government related to labour standards should not be ignored even though the process would be supervised by the Department of Labour in Peninsular Malaysia (JTKSM) along with the Malaysian Immigration Department (JIM) where the approvals will still be issued within a period of six to seven months from the quota approval date.
Sivakumar added this is to ensure that the documents to support the quota application from the employers are authentic as they were instances of fraud, involving false documents.
“I call for cooperation on this from all employers and the industry to ensure that compliance is maintained on the basic aspects related to the standard labour clauses among others such as monthly salary payment to workers including the minimum wage and contributions to Social Security Organisations (SOCSO). I expect full support from the employers to make the government’s Employment Relaxation Plan a success and for them to have valid reason to make quota-based applications for their demand in employing foreign workers,” he said in a statement today (Jan 18).
MoHR will ensure that the approval of the quota applications will meet the actual needs of the country’s workforce as it was crucial for all stakeholders, including the employers, to ensure the image and credibility of the country is secured without any compromise on the welfare and rights of workers as outlined by the International Labour Organization (ILO).
