Andy Hall, who has been vocal about forced labour issues, said Putrajaya’s current policies provide no option for these foreign workers to change employers.
“It is quite shocking, even if migrant workers are abused, they are not allowed to change their employer. Such issues are not addressed in the National Action Plan on Forced Labour 2021-25 (NAPL),” he said in a forum titled “Tackling Forced Labour in Malaysia: A civil society response to government policies”.
Hall also noted that one of the enablers of forced labour was systemic corruption which is prevalent across the government and its departments when managing these issues.
“Therefore, how is it possible for migrant workers to trust them?
“I also know that the human resources ministry has a hotline for migrant workers but how do you complain to the person with whom you have a grievance. If no one respects the law then there will be no implementation of the law,” he said.
Human rights activist Irene Xavier said there should be an amendment to the Trades Union Act to allow migrant workers to set up their own unions and to be elected as union officials.
“There is also a need to strengthen Section 374 of the Penal Code to increase the penalty and jail term for those who commit unlawful compulsory labour,” she said.
Xavier also wants migrant worker management to be under the sole purview of the human resources ministry with immediate effect.
“It is problematic with both the human resources ministry and home ministry handling various aspects of foreign labour.
“Migrant worker management should not be seen as a security issue. I believe that having too many ministries involved has led to a lot of abuses,” she said.
Last month, Reuters reported that in the past two years, seven Malaysian firms, including the world’s biggest glove maker and palm oil producer, have faced US import bans over allegations of forced labour.
The most recent case was that of high-tech home-appliance maker Dyson Ltd cutting ties with its biggest supplier, a Malaysian firm, over alleged forced labour conditions.
The Bar Council’s Migrants, Refugees and Immigration Affairs Committee chairman, M Ramachelvam also raised the same issue a few weeks ago at a talk after the launch of the Bar Council’s booklet, “A Quick Guide to Migrant Workers’ Rights”.
He said migrant workers were usually not in a position to change employers if they were involved in any labour disputes.
“They can go to the labour courts or civil courts but they will not be in a position to change employers,” he was reported to have said.
“What the Bar Council has proposed is to follow the Singapore example. If there is a dispute, these migrant workers should be allowed to change employers provided the director-general of the labour department or his appointed official agrees to that.”