Stabilise foreign workers policy
THE intake of foreign workers in our country has always been a contentious issue. The recent remark by our newly minted Human Resources Minister that future intake will only be based on necessity should be earnestly supported.
Not too long ago when foreign workers were initially allowed to join our workforce, their recruitment was based on necessity and under strict regulations.
Only companies who were engaged in the manufacturing of products for the export market were allowed to hire them for jobs that were not popular among the locals.
Before an application for foreign workers could be submitted to the Home Ministry, employers had to forward a list of the vacant positions to the regional labour office. Only after all efforts to have the positions filled were exhausted would the application be allowed to proceed.
Back then, the service and food industries were strictly prohibited from recruiting foreign workers as there were still many locals who were willing to take up those jobs. With the passage of time and as our country became more affluent, more foreign workers were engaged. Regulations and restrictions were relaxed and compromised, and eventually the system was abused to benefit a select few. Recruitment of foreign workers escalated into a lucrative business for some.
The new Human Resources Minister’s promise to address the shortcomings in the foreign labour sector is welcomed by most owners of businesses that rely on foreign workers, as many of us are facing hiring constraints due to the haphazard and inconsistent policies of the previous government.
Establishing well-regulated and consistent policies for the intake of foreign workers will bring social and economic wellbeing to our country as illegal workers can be eliminated and our government will be able to collect more levies if all of our foreign workers are legally employed. A conservative estimate of about half a million unregistered foreign workers will cost about RM1bil in unpaid levies yearly. The noble intention of our minister to reduce our over-reliance on foreign workers and giving priority to locals should be lauded. However, it has to be done on a gradual and orderly manner as any drastic measures will upset productivity and, if too massive, will cause upheaval to our economy, which will be untimely especially during this crucial moment when our country is saddled with a debt of almost RM1tril.
I would like to debunk the notion that Malaysian employers favour foreign workers because of lower costs. Given a choice, most employers would prefer locals for various reasons.
> The tenure of foreign workers expires after three years and they have to be allowed to return to their home countries, taking with them the experience they gained here;
> Locals who are happy with their job will stay with their employer for a longer duration, saving them the trouble to train new ones perpetually;
> Foreign workers’ wellbeing have to be taken care of 24/7 and there were instances when employ- ers had to attend to their emergency needs during the wee hours; and
> Due to inconsistent regulations in the previous government and other factors, getting approval for foreign workers was not as easy as the public thought. Certain industries, like furniture production, cannot survive without foreign workers as these are labour intensive and the introduction of automation will only offer relief to a certain degree. Fully automated lines are already in place in developed countries and such orders that can be produced automatically will never reach our shores.
Since manufacturing companies, especially SMEs, have limited choices when it comes to labour needs, the recruitment of foreign workers will remain an integral component for business to continue.
We fervently hope we will be given enough opportunity to present our views on the challenges we are facing in these uncertain times.