Programme may be the answer to end labour woes

PUTRAJAYA: With the hiring and legalisation of foreign labour set to become easier with the launch of the Labour Recalibration Programme 2.0 (RTK 2.0) on Jan 27, key stakeholders are heaving a sigh of relief at the possible solution to the nation’s labour shortage.

Malaysian Maid Employers Association (Mama) president Engku Ahmad Fauzi Engku Muhsein said RTK 2.0 could prove to be a timely solution to the problem by utilising the untapped pool of illegal workers in the country.

“We have waited far too long for the procurement of foreign domestic workers, and even after we have agreed to take some in, the question of when or will they arrive remains very uncertain as we wait between three and six months, on average, per worker.

“By capitalising on the available pool of illegal workforce already in the country through RTK 2.0, we’ll be saving both time and money,” he said.

National Association of Human Resources Malaysia president Zarina Ismail said that while the legalisation of healthy illegal foreign workers is a great move, it is merely the first step towards solving the overall labour crisis.

“Many employers have elderly or ill illegal foreign workers who might not pass the health screening.

“As it is cheaper and easier to keep their existing workers instead of training new ones, many employers might not even bother applying for RTK 2.0.

“As such, the government should put an equivalent emphasis on improving the procurement of foreign workers so there’s more supply in the country, while also implementing stricter inspections of employers as a way to discourage them from depending on their old or sick workers,” she said.

Association of Employment Agencies Malaysia (Papa) vice-president Suresh Tan said RTK 2.0’s potential ability to overcome the labour crisis would depend on how strict its requirements are.

“While it is important to ensure the safety of Malaysia and its foreign workers, being more flexible in the requirements needed to apply for legalisation could encourage even more healthy illegal workers to join the workforce officially.

“For example, foreign workers above 45 years old were ineligible under the previous RTK 1.0 and, if found, were required to be sent back to their home countries even if they were still fit to work.

“This resulted in many not applying for RTK 1.0 as employers didn’t want to lose their experienced workers, while workers who wanted to earn more money did not want to lose their stable jobs.

“As long as the employers do not practise outsourcing their workers to other employers and the workers themselves are keen to continue working, it should be perfectly fine to allow them to become legal foreign workers under RTK 2.0.

“Documentation is another issue as there are many foreign workers who may become illegal through no fault of their own, but due to slow processing on the part of their respective home countries’ embassies.

“In cases like these, the foreign workers should be allowed to become part of the legal foreign workforce as long as they can meet the other more serious preconditions such as not having a history of being blacklisted or being on the wanted list,” he stressed.