No straight-forward answer to labour issue

BECAUSE of the freeze on the recruitment of foreign workers announced recently, employers have been complaining about an acute labour shortage. Employers claim that in Sarawak, there is a shortage of 30,000 workers in the plantation sector and this has led to a drop in crude palm oil production.

Yet, in 2014 Human Resources Minister Datuk Richard Riot was reported to have said that there could be as many as 5.7 million foreign workers, both legal and illegal. He warned that foreign workers could control our economy if given the opportunity. Already they were monopolising the semi-skilled sectors like plantation and construction. He urged employers to give reasonable and fair salaries to locals.