The Ministry of Human Resources has issued a press statement intending to clarify a recently released ILO report on forced
labour in Malaysia entitled “Skilled to care, forced to work? Recognising the skills profiles of migrant workers in ASEAN amid forced labour exploitation”.
The Government said it is deeply concerned by the findings of the aforementioned report. Given that forced labour is a serious human rights issue surrounding employee relations, Malaysia has embarked on some key measures to combat forced labour, such as ratifying the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention and adopting the National Action Plan on Forced Labour (2021-2025). MOHR said these plans include measures to increase inspections of workplaces, provide more support to victims of forced labour and raise awareness of the issue among employers and workers.
In view of the latest report, Malaysia said ir will continue to work closely with the ILO and other partners to further strengthen efforts to combat forced labour in Malaysia.
A Memorandum of Understanding on the recruitment and employment of domestic workers that Malaysia signed with many sending countries specifically incorporated protection provisions relating to addressing the domestic sector setbacks and the concerns raised by the workers and their governments in Malaysia.
