Ensuring proper screening of foreign workers’ employers

PUTRAJAYA: It is now compulsory for employers to acquire the Foreign Workers Employment Approval from the Labour Department director-general, says Human Resources Minister V. Sivakumar.

This approval would be applicable for all categories of foreign workers, including expatriates, under amendments made to the Employment Act, he said.

He added that applications had been rejected previously because the employers did not comply with labour laws.

By making it compulsory now, he said the Labour Department could screen them first and ensure legal compliance before they were allowed to hire foreign workers.

“Section 60K(4) of the Employment Act would act as an effective early screening of employers in ensuring that they have clean records that are aligned with employment standards,” he added.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, he noted that the implementation of the amended Act would proceed on Jan 1, citing that it was made in accordance with the recommendations of the International Labour Organisation.

There had been calls from employers to defer the implementation of the amended Act. Initially, it was to be put in place on Sept 1 but this was pushed to Jan 1 next year to ensure a smooth implementation.

Among others, the amendments outlined flexible working arrangements; an increase in overtime costs for employees with wages up to RM4,000 per month; a reduction of working hours from 48 hours to 45; 60 days of hospitalisation leave per year in addition to non-hospitalisation sick leave; an increase in maternity leave from 60 days to 98; and paternity leave of seven continuous days per birth.

Sivakumar said Malaysia’s image had been affected by forced labour issues with instances of glove and palm oil products banned from being marketed in the United States.

On the One Channel System (OCS) to recruit Indonesian domestic workers, the ministry’s deputy secretary-general of operations Datuk Muhd Khair Razman Mohamed Annuar said it was operational and there were already intakes of domestic workers using the system.

He reiterated that the system would remain under the purview of the ministry and would not be transferred to the Home Ministry.

Last week, The Star reported that the Indonesian ambassador claimed the implementation of OCS was delayed due to the issues faced on the Malaysian side.

But the envoy noted that around 1,600 employment contracts had been processed by the embassy’s internal system, out of which about 600 workers had arrived in the country.