GRANT authority to the Human Resources Ministry to vet and protect migrant workers in the country instead of leaving the matter at the hands of various ministries.
Penang Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) secretary K Veeriah proposed that the Government only allows one ministry to handle the vetting and protection of migrant workers with the ultimate choice being the Human Resources Ministry and not the Home Ministry.
“Right now, we have too many fingers on the pie. Let them facilitate the recruitment of migrant workers between supplying nation and the receiving one,” he told FocusM.
“Involvement of too many ministries and agencies complicate things and increases red tape. When that happens, it leads to undesired consequences.”
The MTUC leader was referring to the Labour Department’s announcement recently that it has opened 19 investigation papers against Top Glove Bhd on allegations of flouting the Workers’ Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities Act 1990 (Act 446).
The glove maker also landed in hot soup after one of its employees, Yam Narayan Chaudhray, a 29-year-old Nepali security guard died due to complications from COVID-19 On Dec 12. He was stationed at Top Glove’s 13th factory in Meru, Klang.
Health Ministry director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah confirmed that Yam Narayan was already in the late stages of the virus infection when the latter was brought to the hospital.
Yam Narayan’s death a costly lesson
Touching on the Nepali’s death, Veeriah said the former’s demise was a wake-up call for all employers to start treating both their local and migrant workers better.
“In our view, Yam Narayan was a victim of unacceptable working conditions under which migrant workers toil to eke out a living,” he pointed out.
“Prolonged work hours, coupled with neglecting him of decent living condition not only exposed him to the virus but other illnesses which resulted in his untimely demise.”
The MTUC leader added that employers – as much as they are in pursuit of enhancing output – cannot abrogate their responsibilities in providing a safe working place for their staff.
“By extension, it means providing conducive living conditions as dictated by internationally accepted standards and the Workers’ Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities Act, 1990,” noted Veeriah.
He urged both the Government and employers to discard the primitive thinking that workers are merely tools for profit-making which results in the latter getting “dehumanised’ in the process.
“Employees should not be ‘dehumanised’ just for the sake of profits unless both the Government and employers elect to stand accused of being modern day slave masters!” he added. – Dec 21, 2020.
