The Sarawak division of the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) welcomes the government’s announcement that employers will be responsible for paying the levy of their foreign workers effective Jan 1, 2017.

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said this was enforced under the Employer Mandatory Commitment (EMC). The change in policy would ensure that employers were more responsible in taking care of their workers and avert cases of foreign workers running way, changing sectors of work illegally, and overstaying and becoming illegal immigrants.

Ahmad Zahid said there were employers who were not responsible for the workers they brought in and violated the provisions in the law and regulations. The government had received reports that employers did not pay wages in accordance with the minimum wage, restricted the movement of foreign workers and kept their passports.

“There were instances where foreign workers ran away and the employers washed their hands off the matter and left it to the Immigration Department, police and other agencies to locate and send back the workers,” he said, adding that such incidents gave room to irresponsible people to indulge in human trafficking.

MTUC hope that the government remains firm and not succumb to pressure from employers who are demanding that the policy be rescinded.

The Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) has already urged Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to intervene. The Malaysian Iron and Steel Industry Federation (MISIF) has urged the government to review and rescind the decision.

MEF executive director Shamsuddin Bardan said employers could not be held responsible for workers who ran away, adding that the issue was the responsibility of the government, with the authority and resources to handle it.

He also stated that to make employers fully accountable for their foreign workers until they returned to their countries - as “utterly unfair”.

I believe that such statements are utterly irresponsible and show the true colours of Malaysian employers. How can employers not be solely responsible for the foreign workers that they brought in?

The real question is why are do we have so many foreign workers running away?

MISIF also claimed “We have heavy reliance on foreign labour due to the unwillingness of locals taking local position, their inability to stay long in a position. MEF states, “The industries which usually employ foreign workers are the ones that our local people avoid.”

Same old tune

This is the same old tune employers have been singing for the past 20 years. First employers claim that Malaysians didn’t want to work in the construction sector, then the oil palm sector, then agriculture sector, then manufacturing sector. Now foreign workers are in the hotels, retail, restaurants, even money-lending. Very soon they will claim that Malaysians don’t want to work as ministers!

So first employers claim that locals does want to work for them and don’t stay long. The most embarrassing part is now the employers are claiming that even foreign workers are running away from their jobs?

Excuse me, even foreign workers are refusing to work for Malaysian employers? That says a lot. Something must be very wrong with how Malaysians employers treat their workers.

The Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Association also claims that with the additional costs to businesses to employ the legal foreign workers, more illegal ones will start to come in.

So to avoid paying levies, Malaysian employers resort to employing illegals ones who are often exploited.

Yes we have the problem of weak enforcement and illegal foreign workers remain a scourge. We can blame the government, but if every employer is responsible and law-abiding, we will not have any illegal foreign workers!

MEF has the audacity to say that, “Officially, between RM38 billion and RM40 billion is remitted out of the country by foreign workers and forcing bosses to pay foreign worker levies would cost them an additional RM5 billion every year.”

They should realise that if the RM40 billion plus RM8 billion in agent fees, deposit, housing, insurance (2 million X RM8,000 for two years) translate to RM4,800 a year for the 11 million Malaysian workers, this will increase domestic consumption. The spin-off benefits to the Malaysian economy will benefit the businesses and employers. Locals will be more willing to work if their wages go up by RM400 per month.

I don’t see any employer offering minimum wage plus RM400 to a local worker. I have seen the wage structure of international brand manufacturers with starting pay at just the minimum wage. The majority of jobs in oil palm plantation start at minimum wage and reach a maximum of only RM1,200.

ANDREW LO is secretary, MTUC, Sarawak division.