At one workers’ hostel in Sepang, Selangor, FMT found a group of workers living in squalid conditions.
“More than 30 of us share one toilet,” one of the migrant workers said. Fearing retribution, they declined to disclose details of their employer.
Brought in from Bangladesh and Nepal, these workers were housed in several shop units. Some units did not have electricity, and many units were mouldy, strung with cobwebs, and had rusted doors and leaky pipes.
Their only furniture: the double-decker beds they sleep on.
Former human resources minister M Kula Segaran said laws are already in place to protect the welfare of workers, but the problem lies with a lack of enforcement.
Amendments to the Minimum Standards of the Housing and Amenities Act 1990 require employers to ensure that workers are provided with a minimum floor area of 3.6 square metres, as well as water and electricity supply.
The “worker to bathroom” ratio is capped at 1:15 for those living in dorms and 1:6 for those staying outside.
“In the human resource ministry, there is an acute shortage of enforcement officers. This has been a perennial problem,” Kula said, adding that he raised the issue with the public services department when he was in office.
“They don’t have enough enforcement officers, and on top of it, they don’t have modern technology to oversee these kinds of matters.”
He said the mistreatment of foreign workers is made worse by the fact that the workers do not know their rights in Malaysia.
The way forward
“What I’m going to say is not a popular thing – in all these organisations, (if) they have a strong trade union, there will be check and balance,” said Kula.
Adrian Pereira of the North South Initiative said local councils and embassies should play a more active role in monitoring the living conditions of these workers.
He also said labour inspectors should work closely with the relevant regulatory bodies.
“For example, if it is in the plantations, the ministry that is in charge of plantations should assist in conducting these inspections of the housing,” he said. “(Labour inspectors) could also work with the trade unions in the respective sectors to help keep an eye.”