Monday March 7, 2011
PETALING JAYA: The Human Resources Ministry has been urged to announce actual statistics on foreign workers and their country of origin and not the estimated figure.
Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) president Mohd Khalid Atan said it had received information that there were about two million foreign workers with valid documents.
“This number exceeds the number required by employers in Malaysia. It does not include those working illegally,” he said after meeting the chairman of the Nepal Federation of Trade Unions Gamesh Bahadul Gautam on Saturday.
He said the Government must give priority to Malaysians before deciding to hire foreigners.
Khalid urged the Government to act firmly on the issue of foreign workers as it had made a decision to reduce foreign workers in Malaysia.
Authorities should also step up enforcement to check on illegal immigrants as they took up jobs meant for locals.
The foreign worker issue rose recently when Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subrama-niam said the Government had approved the recruitment of 45,000 foreign workers from India to meet demand by 13 sectors.
However, various groups, including the MTUC, had protested against the decision, saying that local workers should be given priority. — Bernama