Ex-MP Seeks RM50,000 Fine For Duping Foreigners Over Jobs

foreigners

Former MP Charles Santiago has backed a minister’s proposal to penalize businesses for refusing to hire foreign laborers, stating that the fine ought to be at least RM50,000 for each worker who was tricked.

According to him, the RM50,000 payment would cover the cost of the migrant worker’s return ticket, income loss, and agency costs in their home nation.

According to Johari Ghani, minister of plantations and commodities, businesses that mislead foreigners into accepting jobs but then abandon them risk fines of between RM20,000 and RM30,000.

This happened after a march last month in which 171 Bangladeshis were detained for not getting the employment they had been promised by their agents.

Johari’s call is crucial, Santiago informed FMT.

“He is putting the industry in position to confront difficulties in the years ahead as the United States and Europe tighten their laws pertaining to forced labor.”This implies that your items will face product sanctions upon entering Europe, the US, Canada, and Mexico if it is discovered that you have breached forced labor indicators. A nation like ours that relies heavily on exports would be devastated by this.

“We should impose an embargo on the hiring of foreigners, particularly those from Bangladesh, if this issue cannot be resolved. They are arriving in excess, yet they don’t have work.

Beyond sanctions, according to attorney M. Ramachelvam, there needs to be a strong blacklisting system that stops violators from using foreigners in the future.

“The firms, as well as their directors and shareholders, ought to face consequences. In order to make sure that the nominees of the offending parties are placed on a watchlist as well, an audit should be conducted, he added.

He stated that the government had to take notice of the way that agents in the nation where these workers are being hosted are deceiving people who wish to work in Malaysia.

The co-chair of the Bar’s committee on migrants, refugees, and immigration problems, Ramachelvam, stated, “Huge sums of money are being collected by these agents, especially in Bangladesh.”

Related link: Technology can reduce Malaysia’s dependence on foreign workers

Fines, according to migrant rights campaigner Adrian Pereira, may be a clear deterrent, but they may also encourage bribery.

Employers will bribe their way out of business. The executive director of the North-South Initiative stated that we must implement labor inspections that are capable of identifying forced labor.

Human trafficking occurs when these laborers are brought in when jobs are not available. Chase the ringleaders.

According to Pereira, the Prime Minister’s Office should oversee a distinct organization that would oversee the entire process of employing foreign workers, including oversight from an impartial ombudsman.

According to him, the new agency should oversee the current foreign worker central management system, which handles all applications for foreign workers online through a private corporation.

“Under this new agency, an independent ombudsman committee will make sure that there is no abuse, that no so-called special approvals are granted, and that private hands should be involved.”

“Ministries or organizations that may have conflicts of interest should not be involved,” he declared.