Employers reluctant to let go of foreign workers

PETALING JAYA: With the current economic slowdown resulting in lower orders and labour needs, many employers are still reluctant to let go of their foreign workers, says a group representing small and medium enterprises.

SME Association of Malaysia (SME Malaysia) president Ding Hong Sing said companies were worried about encountering challenges in getting workers when business picked up.

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“Many businesses prefer not to repatriate their excess workers now to avoid losing their foreign labour quotas.

“In case business improves and there’s a need for more workers, then the companies might have difficulties recruiting them again.

“The most suitable solution at present is to retain these employees and cut back on their overtime,” he said when contacted.

Human Resources Minister V. Sivakumar said in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday that an additional 150,000 workers would be arriving in Malaysia soon.

Instead of importing new foreign labour, Ding said the government should fully re-evaluate sectors to check those with excess manpower and legalise the undocumented workers already in the country.

He said he agreed with the proposal to redistribute foreign workers in the country to alleviate the labour shortage in certain sectors.

“The government should conduct a comprehensive re-evaluation to identify sectors that have excess foreign workers and make their status official through the recalibration programme,” he said.

Ding said the move would enable employers to save costs too.

“While the expenses for reapplying for foreign labour are high, legalising the current pool of foreign workers also allows the government to accrue levy fees without intermediaries.

“Moreover, these workers who are already in Malaysia do not require retraining,” he added.

However, Ding maintained that local employers still have a preference for local workers.

“At present, SMEs do not face major problems in recruitment. We are focused on motivating the locals to fill positions,” he said.

Small and Medium Enterprises Association Malaysia (Samenta) national secretary Yeoh Seng Hooi called on SMEs to strategise their manpower requirements in advance, given that workforce demand was often unpredictable.

"If the variance is short by more than 30% of utilisation after one year, companies should be allowed to surrender back the quota," he said.

He added that the quotas should be company-focused and not be reliant on recruitment agents.