Migrant labour: Time for a system overhaul?

While the Labour Department has reportedly secured new jobs for some of these workers, activists say this is an ongoing problem.

“Migrants deceived with fraudulent jobs is not new in Malaysia,” Sumitha Shaanthinni Kisha, the Director of non-governmental organisation (NGO) Our Journey, told Astro AWANI.

She cited a 2001 short documentary by Yasmine Kabir, which followed a Bangladeshi man who travels to Malaysia for work through an agent but ended up waiting indefinitely.

“Ultimately he dies.”

In recent months, according to former Klang MP Charles Santiago, a group of 71 workers paid a recruitment agency around RM20,000 each for promised employment in the country.

But upon arrival in Malaysia, they were housed in an apartment without food or water during the holy month of Ramadan.

“The question is, how did they get the permit to come to Malaysia?” said Charles.

He noted that migrant workers were typically brought straight to their workplaces upon arrival, as required by the permit regulations.

“You can only work for the name of the company that is attached to your permit documents.

“Here, you have people who have been brought here with an employer, with a name, with a particular company, but no jobs,” he said, adding that this raised issues of forced labour and trafficking.

It is understood that an organised network of syndicates are responsible for facilitating the movement of workers from source countries to Malaysia.

Charles explained that these syndicates earn money from both the workers, who pay for their employment permits, and the employers, who agree to cover the expenses of bringing in the workers.

Under the zero recruitment fee policy, employers from the receiving country are required to pay for the costs of migrant workers, including medical checks and travel.

“They take money from both sides, so much so that a lot of Malaysian companies have to pay back the workers who already paid the money when they came to Malaysia.

“This means companies are being cheated, and this is somehow an organised crime that has been going on for too long,” said Charles.

The application for migrant workers by employers in Malaysia is also subject to a quota system. However, certain companies choose not to utilise their quotes and instead sell them to agents who use them for recruitment.

Sumitha said migrant workers were often convinced that they could find job opportunities in Malaysia even without a valid work permit or with a permit not tied to their original employer.

“Many who find work and are able to manoeuvre the system will stay silent so long as they are able to work and send money home.

“The unlucky ones are the ones who will ultimately go home after giving up or the authorities will get involved,” she said.

The Labour Department has vowed to take action against firms and revoke the licence of recruitment agencies that are misusing government licences to hire migrant workers.

In a statement to Reuters, the department said it would conduct a thorough investigation and would not compromise on unlawful activities that could lead to forced labour, but did not specify how many firms it was probing.

It added that some of the stranded workers have been moved to government-registered quarters and compelled some companies to pay for their accommodation and salaries.

Despite the problem persisting for years, insufficient measures were being taken to address it, said Sumitha.

“The problem lies in the face that the Home Affairs Ministry is involved in the recruitment process,” she said. “The core system itself is flawed. This is a labour issue not a security issue.”

Sumitha noted that out of an estimated 63 countries that employ migrant labour, Malaysia stands alone in having migrant management under the Home Affairs Ministry instead of the Human Resources Ministry.

Instead, she proposed that the Human Resources Ministry assumed full responsibility for managing migrant workers, while the Home Affairs Ministry focused solely on the issuance of visas.

Meanwhile, Charles suggested establishing a separate agency for recruitment purposes, which would operate independently under the purview of the Prime Minister's Department.

He also called for a complete overhaul of the current Foreign Workers Centralized Management System.

Failure to address the issue, he said, would perpetuate the cycle of employers burdened by paying brokers to bring in workers.

At the same time, migrant workers who borrow money to come to Malaysia would be unable to pay their debts, resulting in situations of slavery or debt bondage.

Sumitha further warned of an increase in undocumented migrants in the country and a higher risk of trafficking and forced labour victims.

Under the current Labour Department policy, undocumented workers do not receive the protections provided under the Employment Act 1955.