Worker freeze brings a chill

PETALING JAYA: With the year-end peak season around the corner, manufacturers are looking forward to a spike in market demand. The bad news is: they may not have enough workers to keep production lines going to meet the demand.

The Home Ministry’s continued freeze on approvals on the hiring of foreign workers is hitting them hard and manufacturers want a dialogue to sort the issue out.

They also want the approval process for foreign workers to be based on market needs and the employer’s merits.

Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers president Tan Sri Soh Thian Lai said companies with no outstanding quotas and justification for their application should be allowed to hire.

“There will be an increase in demand for workers. Despite the challenging business environment, there are some industries that continue to sustain production, including catching up on backlogs. They are preparing for a pick-up in demand towards the year-end. They will continue to need workers,” he said.

Soh, who is also president of the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia, an apex trade organisation, said that as new investments poured into Malaysia, the need for workers increased.

“Some industries still require some level of low-skilled workers. If there is a lack of workers, businesses may have to turn down orders or reduce their production capacity.

“Extending the freeze on approvals indefinitely will jeopardise their business operations,” he added.

Soh said the government should resume foreign worker applications and approval for market-driven worker needs, adding that the blanket freeze would make the business environment more challenging.

“This could affect the economy at large. We are now seeking an appointment with the Home Minister to seek the government’s support in this matter,” he said.

SME Association of Malaysia president Ding Hong Sing also said market demand would pick up next month and towards the fourth quarter of the year, and more workers were needed.

“It may be harder now to do a forecast based on previous performances, but we have to be prepared. As long as a company can justify a need for workers, it should be approved,” he said.

Ding said lifting the freeze would also help with opening the unused quota to other employers.

“Some companies may not have the means or need to bring in the foreign workers they had applied for earlier. The quota can then be transferred to others who need it.”Ding said the freeze was also not helping the micro SME (small and medium enterprise) owners who missed applying earlier.

On June 27, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said there were no plans to allow new foreign workers to be brought in as close to 1.8 million applications had already been approved.