Stop justifying move to replace locals with migrant workforce, says NGO

The Labour Law Reform Coalition says workers may be leaving due to reasons such as excessive working hours, bad work culture, or unhealthy production processes. (Proton pic)

PETALING JAYA:

A labour reform NGO has slammed the automotive industry for justifying its push for migrant workers by saying locals tend to quit within six to 12 months after being hired.

Labour Law Reform Coalition (LLRC) chairman N Gopal Kishnam said the employers should find out the reasons why the workers quit instead of taking the easy way out by choosing to hire migrant workers.

He urged the automotive industry to stop using unjustified reasons to displace Malaysian workers with a migrant workforce, adding that they should take proactive actions to address the root causes of poor local employee retention.

“It is common sense that if so many workers cannot stay at a job after six to 12 months, then something is wrong with the companies.

“It could be due to less attractive wages or remuneration packages, excessive and unpaid working hours, bad work culture, or unsafe and unhealthy production processes,” Gopal said in a statement.

He implored the government and employer groups not to scapegoat workers as the problem may lie with employers.

“Let’s be scientific in studying the labour shortage issue in the sector and together find an amicable solution to address the concern of local workers.”

LLRC also called for the establishment of tripartite sectoral councils in all industrial sectors to ensure that all stakeholders could hold regular dialogues to address the issues.

“The Philippine and Singaporean governments have formed many tripartite sectoral councils to promote industrial peace and improve working conditions.

“It is a good practice that should be implemented as soon as possible to stimulate economic growth and productivity,” Gopal said.

Previously, Proton Vendor Association president Wan Mohamed Wan Embong said the automotive industry might collapse with the loss of more than 500,000 jobs and wiping out up to 4.5% of the national gross domestic product if the manpower issues were not addressed promptly.

Wan Mohamed urged the government to speed up the intake of foreign workers and lower the recalibration cost for about three to five million undocumented migrant workers in the country.

He added that the industry had put in a lot of effort into hiring locals even though most of them often resigned within six to 12 months after being employed.

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Stop justifying move to replace locals with migrant workforce, says NGO

Labour Law Reform Coalition says if so many local workers cannot stay at a job after six to 12 months, then something could be wrong with the companies.