Employers’ group hits out at flip-flop on foreign workers

The Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) has asked if the suspension of Putrajaya's plan to bring in Bangladeshi workers would affect those foreign workers who are already in the process of being brought into the country. MEF executive director Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan also criticised Putrajaya for its lack of long-term policy on foreign workers. Saying he was surprised by the announcement of the suspension by Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Bardan said Putrajaya needed to take a more long term and stable view in policy-making. "We don't know what just happened today, everything seems to be temporary in nature and changed without prior notification. "More often than not, we stakeholders only hear about matters that affect us through the media. "This is a sad state of affairs which gives employers a lot of difficulty," he said. Bardan said he hoped the suspension would not affect earlier approved intake of foreign workers. "I'm really surprised, but for sure, this is going to ruffle some feathers among our members as business is a continuous process, it cannot be simply switched on and off," he added. Meanwhile, Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) secretary-general N. Gopal Kishnam (pic, left) welcomed the move to put on hold the intake of foreign workers, but said there should still be a royal commission of inquiry into foreign labour needs in the country. He said such a move could help in coming up with proper guidelines on foreign workers. He added that the RCI should also review the outsourcing of the business of importing foreign workers. Gopal also believed Putrajaya suspended the intake of 1.5 million workers from Bangladeshis due to MTUC's memos yesterday to the Home Ministry and Human Resources Ministry. He said the trade union would continue pressure Putrajaya for an RCI on foreign workers. Zahid announced today that Putrajaya was putting on hold recruitment of foreign workers from all source countries, including Bangladesh. The announcement came hours after the human resources minister said not all of the 1.5 million Bangladeshi workers were meant for the country, adding that the figure was the number of Bangladeshi citizens registered with their government for employment abroad. – February 19, 2016.]]>