Malaysia steps up efforts to address exploitative practices concerning migrant labourers

 

Malaysia is planning a review of bilateral labor agreements with 15 source countries to address the exploitation of migrant workers and imbalances in the system. More than 70% of Malaysia’s migrant labor force comes from Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Nepal.

In recent years, scores of migrants have arrived only to find the promised jobs unavailable, leaving them stranded. This has notably impacted workers from Bangladesh and Nepal who paid high recruitment fees.

The circumstances coincided with concerns over workplace abuses and companies facing bans for forced labor. Workers also complained about lack of compensation.

Labor and home affairs ministers expressed serious concern over uneven distribution of laborers across sectors. While agriculture and plantations still need workers, quotas have been exceeded in other industries.

The review will examine elements like fees, costs, contracts and health standards. Authorities have investigated five firms for hiring hundreds of migrants without jobs; employers must still pay wages in such cases. The goal is to stamp out exploitation and imbalances affecting thousands of stranded workers.