Something worrying about Malaysia's online application for migrant workers?

Online application, approved in 48 hours? Well, there is of course the question as to whether it is Zahid Hamidi's brother's company that have been awarded the contract to run this online management system?

The other worry is that how will the government evaluate and approve so fast...and who really are the 'employers', does it also include the 'contractor for labour'? 'Contractor for labour' do not have businesses and work that require workers - but rather are 'manpower suppliers' to the employers that need workers, who continue earning monies even after the worker starts working in the workplaces that require these workers. This 'third party' should be eliminated - and direct employer-employee relationship should be restored with the workplace owner/operator and the workers that work for him.

The previous system was better, and it also protected local workers, and was best for employers...

1 - Employer intending to employ migrant workers have to first prove that they have made every possible effort to employ local workers - and this effort had failed, giving them no choice but to resort to employing migrant workers.

2 - In this application, employers would have to specifically state the migrant workers they require - eg. welders, cooks, harvesters, etc.. and they also must indicate that the need is for 3-5 years. 

3 - Employers then will usually go to the country of origin, conduct interviews and skills assessment of the applicants, and thereafter make an offer of employment to the said migrant worker. Of course, wages offered will differ...(When only a standard wage is offered to all workers, this will be most suspicious...)

4 - Thereafter, the employer will supply the authorities with the names of the migrant workers, the job that they will be doing, and also the employment agreement. The government authority will then provide the approval required.

5 - Then the migrant worker is brought to Malaysia - and will the employee of the said employer. There is certainty for both worker and employer - and this was good.

Now, how does Zahid Hamidi think that this process will be done in 48 hours? 

Will there be a change in 'requirements'? Will not employers simply have to state how many workers, and the the said numbers be supplied to the said employer? 

This system is not a good system - Employers do not want just the required number of workers > they want suitable employees with the required skills, capacity and experience. 

Let employment matters be between employer and their workers - without the interference of third parties like contractors for labour, labour suppliers or recruitment companies. Let it be between employer and worker, and if the employer wants to use third parties as agents, so be it - but the law will still see that party as employer's agents - and employers shall be in law liable for all actions and omissions of their agents...

The problem that some employers are facing is that they cannot go chose and employ the workers they want - and be the direct employer of these workers...

When they go to the government for permission to employ their own employers, it is alleged that there is a lot more delay and obstacles... Employers are 'deterred' from making their own application - and are wrongly directed to 'deal with labour suppliers and/or contractor for labour' who the government has given permission to bring in hundreds(even thousands) of migrants...

Employers were bound with defined term employment agreements which really should be for 3-5 years at least - so they will not 'simply' bring workers in. They would want to interview, determine skills and capacity, and choose their own workers - for which they are willing to be responsible for the duration of the contract period. So, why don't the Malaysian government allow this to happen - instead of creating new, and sometimes unnecessary 'third parties' into the process... 

Laws could simply be enacted ensuring that employers are liable for all expenses in the recruiting process..

Employers must submit online applications for foreign workers - Zahid Hamidi

Bernama | August 19, 2015 11:34 MYT

AHMAD ZAHID: We have carried out trials and found the (online) system to be more effective. -Filepix

 

PUTRAJAYA: Soon, applications for foreign workers will not involve agents, but the employers must submit their applications online, says Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

He said the online management system of foreign workers would be introduced soon to reduce the time needed to bring them into the country.

Ahmad Zahid, who is also home minister, said the conventional application where the employers were required to go to the ministry's One-Stop Approval Centre took between three and six months.

"However, the online applications will be approved within 48 hours after the application meets the conditions set by the ministry. We have carried out trials and found the system to be more effective.

"The single-window synchronisation system was created so that there is no overlapping and cross-communication between the ministries," he said.

Ahmad Zahid said this after chairing the first Cabinet Committee Meeting on Foreign Workers and Illegal Immigrants, following his appointment as deputy prime minister in the Cabinet reshuffle on July 28.

Asked if the process would be monitored by the home ministry, he said: "Employers will fill up the online forms and the government will look into how many foreign workers are needed.

"After that, the ministry concerned will liaise with the source country which has the list of registered workers to provide the number of workers requested, as well as several pre-conditions such as data and the foreign worker's biometrics which must be complied with, before the delivery process is undertaken."

On agents who were registered with the ministry, Ahmad Zahid said once the online application system was introduced, the employers would cut their costs as the government provided this service free of charge.

Besides online applications, Ahmad Zahid said the two-hour meeting also decided on two other matters relating to foreign workers - to meet the needs of the industry and boost national economic growth.

He said employers would now be required to provide the foreign workers with accommodation based on minimum standards set by the government.

He added that the provision of accommodation by the employers would be made a pre-condition for the approval of applications by employers who intended to bring in foreign workers.

"Centralised housing will be provided with basic amenities like dining area, toilets, prayer centres for different religions for humanitarian reasons, as well as to reduce the risk of social problems and crime."

The deputy prime minister said a pilot housing project had been carried out in Pengerang, Johor to accommodate 10,000 foreign workers in one housing area.

However, he stressed that priority and social safety nets would be given to local workers to be trained as professional and semi-professional employees in certain sectors.

"This is because foreign workers are only performing jobs which the locals are not interested in, as they are deemed as dirty, dangerous and difficult work," he said.

Ahmad Zahid added the meeting also decided that employers observed the principle of strict liability in their intake for foreign workers to ensure they were fully accountable for workers in their employ."Accountability begins at the application stage, to salaries and until the foreign worker is returned to his country of origin.

"The employer must also be accountable if the return to the country of origin exceeds the duration (of stay) and if the foreign worker moves to another employer," he said.

He said employers who did not fulfill the conditions would face a penalty, subject to the offence committed.

Meanwhile, Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Richard Riot, who also attended the meeting said the centralised housing provided for foreign workers must comply with the condition of 4.5-square-metre rooms and a toilet for every five foreign workers. - Astro Awani, 19/8/2015

MAS Act unjust to workers and trade unions

Malaysiakini  - https://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/309073

Aug 19, 2015

By Four individuals on behalf of 66 groups 

MAS Act unjust to workers and trade unions

We, the undersigned 66 civil society organisations, trade unions and concerned groups, are disturbed by the Malaysian government’s unjust use of an Act of Parliament to suspend and/or deny existing worker rights in law, including also access to justice mechanisms, for the benefit of a private business and employer, being the Malaysian Airlines System Berhad (MAS Bhd), now a wholly-owned private company by Malaysia’s Khazanah Nasional Berhad.

Malaysia tabled and passed speedily the Malaysian Airline System Berhad (Administration) Act 2015 [Act 765], which came into force on 20/2/2015. This Act is most unjust to workers and trade unions of employees of the airline.

The Act, in section 11, states that “...on the appointment of the Administrator, a moratorium shall take effect during which... (e) no proceedings and no execution or other legal process in any court or tribunal may be commenced or continued with, and no distress may be levied, against the Administered Companies or their property except with the prior written consent of the Administrator;” - whereby the Administered company includes MAS Bhd, its wholly owned subsidiaries and some partially owned subsidiaries. The Administrator was appointed on or about 25/5/2015, and the period of administration could last for a maximum period of two years commencing from the date of the appointment of the Administrator.

What is disturbing is that when administration and moratorium ends, all monies, assets and business of MAS Bhd would most likely be transferred to a new legal entity Malaysian Airline Berhad(MAB). MAS Bhd would most likely be left an empty shell.

Rights cases against MAS Bhd stopped

There are currently many cases initiated and filed, now pending before access to justice mechanisms, including tribunals and courts between workers and MAS Bhd, the employer,   claiming wrongful dismissal and/or other worker rights, or between trade unions and MAS Bhd. The effect of the moratorium is that all these actions and cases will stop, and not proceed further until administration of MAS Bhd ends.

At the end, when moratorium is lifted, MAS Bhd would most likely be an empty shell - with no work and no money. Hence, it will be workers and trade unions that will suffer. Workers and trade unions do not just lose their right to justice, but also will have to shoulder additional loses, including all the monies utilised for lawyer and court fees, time and others.

For many workers, it may also mean loss of wages for the days they could not work because they had to attend at relevant departments, tribunal or court in their pursuit for justice. Hence, not only will workers and trade unions be denied justice, but will suffer even more injustice by reason of this anti-worker legislation.

Right to join parties to satisfy worker claims denied

Normally, when the employer has lost the ability to provide remedies, damages or compensation to satisfy the claims of the worker, to ensure justice, the worker can proceed with an application to join third parties to the suit, possibly the owners (Khazanah Nasional) or others.

This MAS Act now unjustly prevents this ability to join parties, in amongst others, in section 25(2), which states that “ The Malaysia Airlines Berhad, the appointer and the Administrator shall not be named as a party in any claim or application made or joined as a party in any proceeding commenced or continued by or on behalf of any employees or former employees of the Administered Companies pursuant to the Industrial Relations Act 1967 [Act 177], Employment Act 1955 [Act 265], Sabah Labour Ordinance 1950 [Sabah Cap. 67], Sarawak Labour Ordinance 1952 [Sarawak Cap. 76] or the Trade Unions Act 1959 [Act 262].’

In fact, section 25(1) says clearly, amongst others, that ‘...the Administered Companies, the Administrator, appointer or the Malaysia Airlines Berhad shall not - (a) be regarded as the successor, assignee or transferee or a successor employer to the Administered Companies; (b) be liable for any obligation relating to any retirement plan or other post-employment benefit plans in respect of the employees or former employees of the Administered Companies or any predecessor of the Administered Companies that exists prior to the assumption of control or appointment; or (c) be liable for any sum which is calculated by reference to a period of time prior to the Malaysia Airlines Berhad becoming the employer of the person in question…’

Same owner of both MAS Bhd and new Malaysian Airline Berhad (MAB)

Considering that the it is Khazanah Nasional that is the sole owner of MAS Bhd, and also the new company MAB, clearly all that is happening is really nothing other than the ‘same person changing shirts’ - and justice would demand that the new entity MAB or the owner, Khazanah, should be justly taking over the obligation and responsibility of MAS Bhd especially for cases involving worker and trade union rights.

The new MAB and MAS Bhd, both owned by Khazanah, really is nothing other that the same owner 

forming a new company to escape responsibility and liability to workers, is also supported by the following:-

• Christoph Mueller, the new chief executive of MAS Bhd, was appointed on 1/5/2015, would later assume the same position with MAB. Same CEO for MAS Bhd, and new MAB?
• When the employees of MAS Bhd received their termination letters in early June 2015, those that were offered employment by the new MAB, were offered a different termination package from those not offered employment in MAB. Those offered employment in MAB, which was to take effect from 1/9/2015, were asked to continue coming in to work in MAS Bhd, while the others, about 6,000, were asked to stop coming in to work with the assurance they will continue to receive normal salary but could not commence employment with another employer before Aug 31, 2015 unless they first get approval of MAS Bhd’s Human Resource Department. For many airline employees, other than basic wages, income from allowances and such if they are working makes up sometimes 50 percent or more of their monthly take home income. Rightly, all employees of MAS Bhd, irrespective of whether they will be later employed in MAB, should have received the same benefits and ex-gratia on termination by MAS Bhd.

In the name of justice, MAB or Khazanah or the Malaysian government should really take over the obligation of any or all claims of employees and trade unions against MAS Bhd. 

Avoiding just principles of lay-off and termination

When an employer wants to reduce staff, they would justly retrench the number of workers they no longer need - and there are just  requirements that need to be complied in any retrenchment exercise like the ‘Last In First Out’(LIFO) principle. Here, this is avoided by MAS Bhd simply terminating all employees on Aug 31, 2015. Justly, the about 6,000 who were no longer required to come into work since June, should have been laid off then and there and paid all their entitlements.

Union busting?

With the termination of all employees of Malaysia Airlines Systems Bhd (MAS Bhd), it would also mean the demise of about seven in-house trade unions.

The only national trade union, the National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia (Nufam), managed to  show support of 62.73 percent of the qualified employees, and obtain the minister’s order that made it  a recognised union in MAS Bhd. Rather than accept this, MAS Bhd  went  for judicial review challenging the minister’s decision.

Nufam alleges that only two out 10 executive committee members of the union, who are employees in MAS Bhd have been offered employment in the new MAB.

As such, this ‘restructuring exercise of the airline’ and this new law can also be considered a means of union busting.

Loss of regular employment until retirement

Many workers who are regular employees until retirement in MAS Bhd, who have been offered employment in the new MAB find that they will now become precarious employees on short-term contracts, some even on three or six months employment contracts. There is no law in Malaysia that stipulates that short-term contract employees will continue as employees if the work they were hired to do still exist.

Short-term and other precarious forms of employment also would likely deter union formation or involvement, deter workers from claiming rights and facilitate easier exploitation of workers.

Ignoring workers’ and families’ financial security and well-being

Workers in Malaysia have families and dependents, and also many now have monthly loan-repayment obligations, and justly they should be provided secure regular employment until retirement, whereby they still could be terminated for misconducts, or laid off where the employers has to reduce jobs.

Whilst Malaysia says that it is concerned about the airline business, it has demonstrated a serious lack of concern for the welfare and well-being of workers.

We therefore urge:

That the said Malaysian Airline System Berhad( Administration) Act 2015 be repealed, and the effect this Act has had on workers and trade unions be reversed. No law should be enacted to suspend/deny worker rights for selected employers;

That all pending cases with regard to labour matters, be it with workers or unions, shall be justly resolved or settled forthwith by MAS Bhd, and its owners Khazanah Nasional;

That for all worker and trade union cases against MAS Bhd,  MAB and Khazanah Nasional shall agree to be joined in as parties and assume obligations of MAS Bhd to workers;

That if the Malaysian Airlines is desirous of reducing the number of employees, it be done by letting go employees in compliance with the Last In First Out (LIFO) principle and other established just legal principles;

That if the Malaysian Airlines is to be taken over by another entity, like the Malaysian Airlines Berhad (MAB), workers should be employed by MAB as secure regular employees and not by means of precarious forms of employment like short-term contracts;

That Malaysia considers the rights, welfare and wellbeing of workers and their families are just as important, if not more, than the wellbeing and profits of government-owned or linked businesses. 

Charles Hector
Syed Shahir Syed Mohamud
Mohd Roszeli Majid
Pranom Somwong

For and on behalf the 66 organisations, trade unions and groups listed below
Aliran
Airlines Workers’ Union Sarawak
Alternative Asean Network on Burma (Altsean-Burma)
Asia Monitor Resource Centre (AMRC), Hong Kong
Centro de Reflexión y Acción Laboral, Cereal (Labour Studies and Action Centre), México
Centre for Orang  Asli Concerns (COAC), Malaysia
Clean Clothes Campaign
Club Employees Union Peninsular Malaysia
Committee for Asian Women
CWI Malaysia (Committee For Workers’ International, Malaysia)
Daeduck Employees Union-Ind., CEPZ, Rosario, Cavite, Philippines
Eagle Ridge Golf Course and Residential Estate Employees Union, Cavite, Philippines
Electronic Industry Employees Union (EIEU) Southern Region, Peninsular Malaysia
Electronic Industry Employees Union (EIEU) Northern Region, Peninsular Malaysia
Garment and Allied Workers Union, Haryana, India
Globalization Monitor
Hye Sung Workers Union, CEPZ, Rosario, Cavite, Philippines
Institut Perempuan (Indonesia)
Jaringan Kampung Orang Asli Semenanjung Malaysia (JKOASM)
Kesatuan Pekerja-Pekerja Perodua
Kesatuan Pekerja-Pekerja Mitsui Copper Foil (MCFEU)
Kesatuan Pekerja-Pekerja MHS Aviation Berhad (MHSEU)
Kesatuan Eksekutif Airod
Kesatuan Pekerja-pekerja Perodua Engine Manufacturing Sdn Bhd
Kesatuan Pekerja-Pekerja Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Sdn Bhd (KPP Proton)
Knights For Peace, International
Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (Madpet)
Network of Action for Migrants in Malaysia (NAMM)
Nagkakaisang Manggagawa ng Keyrin (trade union), CEPZ, Rosario, Cavite, Philippines
North South Initiative
Malaysian Humanist and Rationalist Movement (‘myHARAM’)
Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC)
Metal Industry Employees’ Union (MIEU), Malaysia
MAP Foundation, Chiangmai, Thailand
Masyarakat Akar Rumput (Makar Indonesia)
Migrante International
Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organization Malaysia (MERHROM)
National Union of Transport Equipment & Allied Industries Workers (NUTEAIW)
National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia (Nufam)
National Union of Hotel, Bar and Restaurant Workers (NUHBRW)
National Union of Journalists (NUJ) Cawangan Utusan Melayu
National Union of Tobacco Industry Workers (NUTIW)
National Union Employees in Companies Manufacturing Rubber Products (NUECMRP)
Non-Metallic Mineral Products Manufacturing Employees Union (NMMPMEU)
National Union of Banking Employees (NUBE)
Paper Products Manufacturing Employees’ Union of Malaysia (PPMEU)
Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM)
Peoples Service Organization (PSO)
Perak Women for Women Society (PWW)
Persatuan Masyarakat Selangor & Wilayah Persekutuan (Permas)
Persatuan Sahabat Wanita Selangor
Persatuan Kesedaran Komuniti Selangor
Persatuan Komuniti Prihatin Selangor dan Kuala Lumpur
PINAY (Filipino Women's Organization in Quebec), Canada
Pusat Komas
Railwaymen’s Union of Malaysia (RUM)
Sahabat Rakyat
School of Acting Justly, Loving Tenderly and Treading humbly (SALT)
Solidarity of Cavite Workers, Cavite, Philippines
Tenaga National Berhad Junior Officers Union (TNBJOU)
Tenaganita
Workers Assistance Center, Inc (WAC)
WH4C (Workers Hub For Change)
Yayasan Lintas Nusa Batam - Indonesia
Kesatuan Pekerja-Pekerja Airod Sdn Bhd
Society for the Promotion of Human Rights, Malaysia (Proham)

Palm-Oil Migrant Workers Tell of Abuses on Malaysian Plantations (WSJ, 20/7/2015)

Palm-Oil Migrant Workers Tell of Abuses on Malaysian Plantations

Global palm-oil industry contributes to human trafficking, rights advocates say

The Wall Street Journal

By Syed Zain Al-Mahmood

July 26, 2015 1:55 p.m. ET

JEMPOL, Malaysia—On a sun-scorched hillside, bulldozers clear land to plant more of the trees that yield palm oil, which is used in everything from Oreos to Pop-Tarts to Old Spice deodorant. Demand for palm oil has surged in recent years, making it the most-consumed vegetable oil in the world.

Nearby, an army of migrant workers toils in the heat, using long poles with attached sickles to saw off fruit bunches high in the trees, then hoisting the heavy clumps of fruit onto trucks headed to mills that extract oil.

Among the workers is Mohammad Rubel, 22 years old, who said he has been doing this seven days a week, without receiving any pay, since he arrived from Bangladesh in December under the auspices of human smugglers.

To get here, Mr. Rubel said, he endured three weeks in a crowded boat with inadequate food and water, followed by more weeks confined in a jungle camp while guards extorted a ransom from his parents back home. He said he saw dozens of fellow illegal migrants die from exhaustion, disease or beatings.

“If I had known what was waiting, I would never have left home,” Mr. Rubel said.

Global attention has focused this year on South Asian refugees such as him, primarily Bangladeshis and stateless Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution in Myanmar. Their ordeal, which has drawn comparisons to that of refugees trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe, reached new levels of concern this spring when Malaysian and Thai police found nearly 150 bodies of people thought to have died in human traffickers’ camps.

Now, some human-rights advocates say the $30 billion global palm-oil industry, which has boomed with demand from the U.S. and China, is part of the problem. Many of the undocumented migrants end up in Malaysia, which exports nearly $12 billion of palm oil a year, around 40% of the world’s supply, and has a growing need for unskilled workers. The Arakan Project, a nonprofit that studies migration through the Bay of Bengal, estimates nearly 50,000 people have boarded boats for the perilous journey to Malaysia in the past two years, many dying on the way.

“There is a huge demand for labor in sectors such as plantations and construction” in Malaysia, said Alfred Vengadasalam, a Malaysian lawyer who specializes in labor issues. “These are also the sectors where abuses are most common.”

The U.S. Department of Labor in December cited Malaysian palm oil as an industry where forced labor occurs. The State Department, in its annual Trafficking in Persons Report for last year, placed Malaysia at the lowest rank, Tier 3, for alleged insufficient efforts to stop human trafficking.

The U.S. can’t sign a free-trade pact with a Tier 3 country, under U.S. “fast-track” legislation smoothing the way for the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership. As a result, there now is pressure to upgrade Malaysia to Tier 2. This year’s State Department human-trafficking report, delayed since June, is expected to be released as soon as Monday. The State Department had no comment.

5 Things

Malaysia’s government said palm oil is an important contributor to its economy. It said it has set up a center to streamline and coordinate recruitment of foreign workers for the plantations.

At the country’s Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities, a spokesman didn’t respond to questions about abuse of workers or the presence of trafficked workers on plantations. He said Malaysian law requires all employers to provide adequate training and protection, and laborers injured on the job are entitled to compensation.

The Malaysian Palm Oil Council, a government agency responsible for promoting the product, said the industry is a leading contributor to the alleviation of poverty and social development in Malaysia. Palm-oil use was fueled in part by a 2006 U.S. Food and Drug Administration order to label foods’ trans fats, prompting snack makers to look for alternatives. Exports to the U.S. more than quadrupled over a decade, and roughly half of all packaged products in supermarkets now contain palm oil or a derivative.

Foreign workforce

The plantation where Mr. Rubel works is controlled by Felda Global Ventures, a semi autonomous company set up by Malaysia’s government and one of the largest producers of crude palm oil. Its customers, according to U.S. customs and shipping data, include Minnesota-based Cargill Inc., which resells the oil to multinationals such as Nestlé SA and Procter & Gamble Co. 

Felda said workers on its plantations, nearly 85% of them foreigners, are afforded basic rights and earn the minimum wage. Cargill and its customers said they weren’t aware of alleged labor abuses on palm-oil plantations and would investigate.

Mr. Rubel’s employer is one of the labor contractors that supply much of Felda’s workforce. It is while employed by contractors, rather than directly for Felda, that abuses such as the withholding of pay are most common, workers said.

“They buy and sell us like cattle,” said one 25-year-old Bangladeshi, who said he had been shunted among three contractors for six months without receiving any pay.

Living in huts in the forest far from stores, the workers often must buy supplies from contractors, who they say set artificially high prices that put workers in debt. One man said his contractor deducted 30% from his weekly pay when he took an hour off to attend Friday Muslim prayers.

Being in Malaysia illegally, workers such as Mr. Rubel see little they can do to change matters, especially since workers said their employers took away their passports. “There is no escape,” said Muhi, a migrant who identified himself with just one name. “They bring policemen and threaten to send us to jail.”

Efforts to reach labor contractors were unsuccessful. The migrant workers declined to identify their contractors, saying they feared deportation or physical harm. In the past, contractors have told rights groups they play an important role in meeting labor demand and sometimes hold workers’ passports for safekeeping.

Malaysian law doesn’t permit someone’s passport to be held by others, the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities said.

Some workers directly employed by Felda said they had somewhat better work experiences and didn’t feel trapped on plantations. Some said they received better pay than they had earned on construction sites or in the hospitality industry. Several men said they had been allowed to go home every two years.

Felda said it was working to employ a larger part of its workforce directly. A spokesman said all workers on its plantations, regardless of employer, are accorded rights such as the Malaysian minimum wage. Under Malaysian law, a plantation owner is responsible for all workers on its property.

The minimum wage is 900 ringgit, or about $240, a month. Several workers interviewed, including some with legal documents, said their pay was often below the minimum. A number of recent pay slips seen by The Wall Street Journal, bearing Felda’s name, showed monthly payments of 700 to 800 ringgit.

The company said people have to work at least 26 days a month to qualify for the minimum wage. Workers said supervisors sometimes didn’t give them enough work to meet that threshold, although under Malaysian law, plantations must provide enough for full-time workers to make minimum wage.Mohammad Rubel, who arrived in Malaysia after a perilous journey in a smuggler’s boat as well as later captivity in a jungle camp, says he has been working on a palm plantation since December without receiving any pay. Photo: Syed Zain Al-Mahmood/The Wall Street Journal

The recruiting of workers abroad is sometimes done by labor brokers and sometimes directly by agents for smugglers. The last large-scale intake of plantation workers from Bangladesh through regular channels was in 2008. Since then, government-to-government recruitment has largely stalled, with both sides citing irregularities in the process.

Muhammad Rashed, based in the northern Kedah state, is a labor broker. He said, however, that for passage to Malaysia, he had no choice but to work with smugglers.

Fielding calls on a battered Nokia phone, Mr. Rashed said the smugglers compete aggressively to carry workers so they can collect fees from them later, while holding them captive. “A few months ago, they forced 10 of my people to get on a different boat at gunpoint,” he said.

Chance for a job

Mr. Rubel, the young Bangladeshi, was living in the city of Bogra when a smugglers’ agent tempted him with talk of good wages on plantations abroad.

A stocky man with a mop of unruly hair, Mr. Rubel said he was struggling to find work at home and wanted to show his parents he could earn a living. On an October evening, he traveled with three friends to the coastal town of Teknaf. They boarded a 40-foot wooden fishing boat that held nearly 200 other Bangladeshis and ethnic Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar.

The agent told him he would be paid his wages, and from them he could pay the fee of 160,000 Bangladeshi takas, or $2,000, according to Mr. Rubel. He said the agent, who couldn’t be reached for comment, promised there would be plenty of food and water on the trip.

Instead, he said, armed men operating the boat rationed food and water so the packed-in migrants would make fewer trips to the toilet, and beat them when they asked for more. The heat and stench were overpowering, he said, and he saw dozens die.

At one point, he said, he watched as the traffickers threw migrants’ bodies into the sea, after slitting open their abdomens so they would sink.

After three weeks, the boat reached southern Thailand. Mr. Rubel said he and hundreds of others were put in crowded camps, sleeping entangled in one another’s limbs behind coils of barbed wire.

He and several others who passed through the camps said that the traffickers, demanding money to release the migrants, would put them on the phone to their parents and beat them so the parents could hear their screams and pay up. Those who couldn’t pay were held and beaten regularly, he said.

Mr. Rubel said the smugglers called his father and told him “they would bury me in the jungle” if he didn’t pay. His father sold a piece of land and paid the smugglers $2,500 through an agent in Bangladesh. The traffickers later marched him and others for days through the jungle to a spot inside Malaysia. They were passed to other operatives and taken to the Malaysian town of Jempol, where Mr. Rubel found work at the Felda plantation as an employee of one of the labor contractors.

Palm fruit is the basis of a $30 billion global industry, with palm oil the most-consumed vegetable oil in the world. Photo: Syed Zain Al-Mahmod/The Wall Street Journal

The work is challenging. Palm oil fruit grows atop trees up to 65 feet high in reddish-golden bunches that can weigh more than 60 pounds.

Mr. Rubel said the contractor has withheld all of his wages, without giving a reason. Contractors sometimes pay recruitment fees to labor brokers, then recover these by not paying workers for a few months, according to workers and brokers.

Mr. Rubel didn’t protest. He worried that if he did, the contractor would alert authorities and he would be arrested. He said he believes if he stays long enough, he will eventually start receiving wages.

One of his jobs is spraying pesticides, including the weed killer Paraquat, which some countries restrict because of its toxicity. He said he got protective gear but no training, and using the chemical made his head spin. Other workers said contractors told them to buy their own protective gear if they wanted it.

The Felda spokesman said the company sanctions the use of Paraquat only “under specific conditions where regular herbicide is not able to give effective control.”

Some workers, even those directly employed by Felda, said they weren’t given compensation if accidents occurred. Al Amin, a Felda employee of seven years, said he suffered multiple fractures of his right leg when run over by a company tractor. Another employee, Malek Mia, said he partially lost eyesight when a palm thorn penetrated his left eye. Although the company provided for some medical care, both said, they have had to pay for much of it themselves.

Felda said all workers are covered by insurance, and it will investigate allegations of nonpayment after injury.

Palm-fruit bunches like these in Sepang, Malaysia, are pressed into palm oil. Photo: MOHD RASFAN/AFP/Getty Images 

Felda is a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, or RSPO, a certification scheme meant to ensure environmental and social standards. Its rules say all plantation workers must have adequate training and protection and be paid a living wage. The measure of that is left to local authorities.

The RSPO’s secretary-general, Darrel Webber, said he was unaware of any abuses faced by workers on Felda plantations but would investigate.

Many global companies, including Nestlé and P&G, commit to buying palm oil only from RSPO-certified plantations. Nestlé said it was unaware of conditions at Felda’s plantations but was refocusing resources to “ensure that our responsible sourcing requirements are met” in Malaysia. P&G said it would look into the allegations and “take any necessary corrective action.”

At Felda customer Cargill, “we take this matter seriously and will be investigating,” a spokeswoman said. Cargill was among companies that last year committed to begin tracing palm oil to the plantations where it is produced, though this effort is driven mostly by environmental concerns.

The boats are still coming to Malaysia, despite the onset of monsoon season. The Thai coast guard in mid-June spotted several, each carrying more than 500 people it said were migrants on their way to Malaysia. - Wall Street Journal, 20/7/2015

Rightly. No PROBATION for Migrant Workers in Malaysia affirmed

No more PROBATION for Migrant Workers in Malaysia since1st July 2013. Well, very odd, because for workers employed under fixed-term employment contracts, there really should be no probation period at all.

PROBATION PERIOD really should only be used when the employment is to be confirmed to REGULAR employment (meaning employment until retirement or until employer no more). This probation should be for a period of no more than 3 months - time for both employer and worker to suitability of the employment relationship, whereby the employer considers also the ability of the worker to do the job... - thereafter, if satisfied, it is confirmed and the worker is a REGULAR employee until retirement... 

For short-term or fixed-term employment arrangement, there should be NO Probation...

Migrant workers in Malaysia are all employed on fixed-term contracts (3-5 years generally), and thus the government is RIGHT in affirming that PROBATION should not be there in such employment relationships...

"> 1KEMENTERIAN SUMBER MANUSIA PUTRAJAYA

TEMPOH PERCUBAAN (PROBATION PERIOD) TIDAK TERPAKAI KEPADA PEKERJA ASING
 
Mesyuarat Jawatankuasa Kabinet Mengenai Pekerja Asing Dan Pendatang Asing Tanpa Izin (JKKPA-PATI) pada 1 Julai 2013 yang dipengerusikan oleh YAB Tan Sri Dato’ Haji Muhyiddin Bin Haji Mohd. Yassin, Timbalan Perdana Menteri Malaysia, telah memutuskan bahawa tempoh percubaan (probation period) adalah tidak terpakai kepada pekerja asing yang memegang
Pas Lawatan Kerja Sementara (PLKS) dan ia menjadi syarat wajib dalam pengambilan pekerja asing yang baru. Keputusan ini telah diumumkan oleh YAB Timbalan Perdana Menteri sendiri selepas mesyuarat pada 1 Julai 2013. 

Sehubungan itu, semua majikan yang ingin menggaji pekerja asing dikehendaki mematuhi syarat ini.

Kementerian Sumber Manusia
11 Julai 2013

 http://www.mohr.gov.my/index.php/en/archives/115-highlights/620-tempoh-percubaan-pekerja-asing

More foreign workers failing medical tests, says‎ ‎agency‎‎ (Malaysian Insider)

More foreign workers failing medical tests, says‎ ‎agency‎‎

Published: 9 March 2015 12:45 PM

Foreign workers are failing their medical tests at a higher rate this year than last. – The Malaysian Insider filepic, March 9, 2015. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Foreign workers are failing their medical tests at a higher rate this year compared to 2014, a foreign worker medical examination monitoring agency (Fomema) said today.‎

Unitab Medic Sdn Bhd said‎ that as of last month, this year's health screenings have s‎een an average failure rate of 3.1%, compared to 2.8% for the entirety of last year.

‎"As (of) February 2015, 179,004 of foreign workers passed and only 5,657 of them failed (the) Fomema medical examination, which is equal to 184,661 number of foreign workers registered with Fomema," said Unitab Medic in‎ a press release.
Last year, 1,286,247 foreign workers passed the Fomema medical examinations while 37,294 failed, it said.‎ 

 

The 2014 results showed that the most prevalent communicable disease among foreign workers was Tuberculosis, with 47% or 17,981 suffering from the disease, said Unitab Medic.‎

This was followed by Hepatitis B, with 4,203  (11%‎) workers testing positive for the disease.‎

1,371 (4%) workers last year failed ‎the Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) test, a blood test for syphilis, while 1,660 (4%) and 1,176 (3%) tested positive for cannabis‎ and opiates, respectively.

1,157 (3%) of the foreign workers examined were pregnant, while 92 (1%) of foreign workers failed the psychiatry tests, said Unitab Medic.

"T‎uberculosis or TB is an airborne disease – the bacteria is passed from person to person through the air when someone coughs or sneezes. People who are nearby may be infected after breathing in the bacteria," said ‎Datuk Mohd Hatar Ismail, the president and CEO of Unitab Medic, during yesterday's annual Foreign Worker Medical and Chest X-ray Seminar in Petaling Jaya.

"‎The bacteria can attack any part of the body, but they usually stick to the lungs and people with TB disease are most likely to spread it to those they spend time with every day, like their family members or co-workers."

Yesterday's seminar‎, which attracted 300 participants, was organised to ensure stringent and high quality health screening of the foreign workers in Malaysia, said Hatar.

On November 12, 2014, Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Richard Riot said there was an estimated 6.7 million foreign workers in the country, but only 2.1 million had valid work permits. – March 9, 2015.

 

- See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/more-foreign-workers-failing-medical-tests-says-agency#sthash.Ylwnxqxk.dpuf

Migrant Worker Recruitment Terms, Levy, Visa Charges, Security Bond (Info from Malaysian Immigration Website)

RECRUITMENT TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF FOREIGN WORKERS

• Only permitted to work in these sectors - Manufacturing, Construction, Plantation, Agriculture and Services;

• Quota of foreign workers must be obtained by employers / companies from Ministry of Home Affairs, One Stop Centre (OSC);

• Age of not less than 18 years and not more than 45 years at the time of application;

• Certified as fit and healthy by the approved medical centre in the source countries; List of medical centre

• Not listed as foreign individuals who are prohibited from entering this country under Section 8 (3) of the Immigration Act 1959/1963; and

• Foreign workers must come from approved source countries as below: 

• 	Gender		SECTOR
  Country	F	M
  Thailand	/	/
  Cambodia	/	/
  Nepal	/	/
  Myanmar	/	/
  Laos	/	/
  Vietnam	/	/	All Sectors (Construction, Plantation, Agriculture, Services, Manufacturing)
  Philippines	X	/
  Pakistan	/	/
  Sri Lanka	/	/
  Turkmenistan	/	/
  Uzbekistan	/	/
  Kazakhstan	/	/
  India	/	/	·       Construction (high tension cable only); ·       Services (goldsmith, wholesale/ retail, restaurant-cooks only, metal/ scrap materials and recycling, textiles and barbers); ·       Agriculture; and Plantation
  Indonesia	/	/	Male workers from Indonesia are allowed to work in all sectors except Manufacturing, while female workers from Indonesia are allowed to work in all sectors stipulated.
  Bangladesh	/	/	Plantation via G to G agreement

APPLICATION PROCEDURES

Phase 1 (Pre Arrival )

-       Employers must first apply to the Immigration Department for a Visa with Reference (VDR) approval before employing foreign workers.

-       Application forms for VDR can be submitted either at the Immigration counters or online via e-Services system.

-       VDR application must follow this checklist:

·           VDR application form

·           Approval letter from Ministry of Home Affairs (Quota approval)

·           Original receipt of payment for levy

·           IM.12 and IM.38 Forms

·           Security bond - deposits / insurance guarantee / bank guarantee (insurance guarantee must be stamped and valid for at least 18 months )

·           Copy of the foreign workers’ passports

·           Latest photo of the foreign workers (passports size)

·           Medical certificates from the medical centre in origin countries (valid for 3 month from the date of issuance)

·           Foreign Worker Compensation Scheme (insurance)

·           Insurance policy of Health Insurance Protection Scheme Foreign Workers (SPIKPA) - Except for Plantation Sector

-       Foreign workers must remain in their respective countries while pending VDR approval from Malaysia Immigration Department.

Note: For Sabah and Sarawak, the approval for foreign worker’s employment is governed by the State Government accordingly. 

Phase 2 (Post Arrival)

-       Foreign workers will only be allowed to enter the country at the authorized entry points using the VDR issued by the Immigration Department and entry visa issued by the Malaysian Attachés Office in the country of origin.

-       Employers must ensure that the clearance process of foreign workers at the entry points is done within 24 hours from the arrival time.

-       The issuance of Visit Pass (Temporary Employment) [VP(TE)] to the foreign workers will only be done after they have passed the FOMEMA medical examination within 30 days which can be done at any medical centres registered with FOMEMA. 

-       VP(TE) will be issued once the foreign worker is certified fit by clinic/ medical centre registered with FOMEMA. Failing which, the foreign worker will not be allowed to stay and work in this country. Employers are required to apply for Check Out Memo for the repatriation of the foreign worker. 

-       Issuance of VP(TE) shall be made at the Immigration Office which issued the VDR approval letter.

EXTENSION OF VP(TE)

-       VP(TE) is valid for a period of 12 months. Employers can apply for VP(TE) extension 3 months before the expiry date. 

-       Employers must ensure the extension application is made before the VP(TE) expires. Any application submitted after the expiry date will be referred to the Immigration Enforcement Division for consideration.

-       Application of VP(TE) extension must adhere to this checklist :

·           Passport of the foreign worker is still valid for 12 months and above

·           Application letter to extend the VP(TE)

·           Identification document of employee/ company representative (SSM company / Form 49 / Form B & D / Card Company Representative / Form Company representatives have endorsed / copy of the employer 's identity card)

·           Security bond in a form of bank guarantee / insurance guarantee / deposit ( validity period of bank guarantee / insurance guarantee is at least 18 months )

·           Insurance policy of Health Insurance Protection Scheme Foreign Workers (SPIKPA) – except for plantation sector

·           Slip of Foreign Workers Compensation Scheme ( FWCS )

·           Foreign workers must undergo medical examination and certified fit by the clinic/ medical centre registered with FOMEMA (for 2nd and 3rd year extension only).

EMPLOYMENT PERIOD AND  REPATRIATION 

-       Foreign workers are allowed to work in this country on a yearly basis up to 10 years. However, those registered under the 6P Program is allowed to work up to 3 years only.

-       Upon completion or termination of employment, the employers must ensure that foreign workers are deported to their origin countries by using Check Out Memo. Security bond can be claimed provided the repatriation process is done accordingly through Check Out Memo. 

FEES FOR VP(TE) EXTENSION  

The following fees must be paid to the Immigration Department for VP(TE) extension application:

SECTOR	LEVY (Peninsular)	LEVY (Sabah/ Sarawak)	VP(TE)	PROCESS	VISA
Manufacturing	RM1,250.00	RM1,010.00	RM60.00	RM125.00	Based on nationality
Construction	RM1,250.00	RM1,010.00	RM60.00	RM125.00
Plantation	RM590.00	RM590.00	RM60.00	RM125.00
Agriculture	RM410.00	RM410.00	RM60.00	RM125.00
Services	RM1,850.00	RM1,490.00	RM60.00	RM125.00
Services (island resort)	RM1,250.00	RM1,010.00	RM60.00	RM125.00

Table 1 : Rate of levy, VP(TE) and process fee based on different sectors 

NATIONALITY	VISA (RM)	SECURITY BOND (RM)
Indonesia	15.00	250.00
Bangladesh	20.00	500.00
Pakistan	20.00	750.00
Myanmar	19.50	750.00
India	50.00	750.00
Philippines	36.00	1,000.00
Thailand	Gratis	250.00
Cambodia	20.00	250.00
Nepal	20.00	750.00
Vietnam	13.00	1,500.00
Sri Lanka	15.00	750.00

Table 2 : Rates of Visa and security bond based on nationality

-       Payment can be made in cash or bank drafts to the "Director General Of Immigration Malaysia".

-       For the state office, address it to the "Director Of Immigration of (the respective states)”. For example; Director Of Immigration Selangor)

-       Foreign workers who hold the VP(TE) permit must adhere to these conditions :

-        family members are not allowed to accompany or live in this country;

-        must not work as front liner;

-        change of employers or employment sectors is not allowed; and

-        marriage is prohibited with local or foreign citizens.

ABSCONDMENT OF FOREIGN WORKERS

-       Foreign workers can be categorized as absconded when: 

-     leaving work place without notifying the employers with the intention to escape; and

-     not returning to work place after coming back from origin country

-       Employers are required to notify the Immigration Department for absconded cases and must provide these documents:

·      identification document of employer/company representative

·      Copy of foreign worker’s passport

·      Foreign worker absconded form

·     Valid police report

-       Foreign workers who commit the act of abscondment will be blacklisted by the Immigration Department. 

-       Their security bonds will be confiscated as well.

FOREIGN WORKERS (COLOURED) IDENTITY CARD BY SECTORS OF EMPLOYMENT (i-KAD)

-       Foreign workers with valid VP(TE) will also be issued the i-Kad and its validity period is the same with the VP(TE). 

-       The issuance of i-Kad does not incur any additional cost to the employers and it will be sent directly to the employer/company by the authorized vendor. 

-       The issuance of i-Kad is based on 6 employment sectors allowed in this country and they are indicated by different colours, as follows:

SECTOR	COLOUR
Agriculture	Green
Plantation	Orange
Construction	Grey
Manufacturing	Maroon
Services	Yellow
Foreign Domestic Helper	Brown

Last Updated on Tuesday, 04 November 2014 07:18

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