Malaysia is one of Asia's biggest employers of foreign labour. But recently, cases of deaths, abuse and forced labour have come to light. What is going on? Who is protecting these migrant workers?
Under our immediate
past Prime Minister, we had launched our aspirations towards becoming a developed
nation by the year 2020. We have since accepted the fact that economic progress
should not be the sole measure of our progress towards achieving the goal of becoming
a developed nation. We are now debating, with increasing regularity, as to whether
Malaysians are developing the right mindset and I see this as a very positive
development.
<P>The development of a first class mindset involves a confluence
of factors and determinants. The many institutions of society will play a big
part in determining the development of a first class mentality of Malaysians.
Freedom of the press, independence of the judiciary, free and independent trade
unions and freedom of speech are some of the institutions which are necessary
to ensure this development.</P><P>To begin with, the suppression of individual
liberties would be a definite hindrance towards the development of civil society,
and in turn would serve an impediment to the development of the mindset of Malaysians.</P><P>It
is the independence of these institutions which would ensure that Malaysians are
able to develop a first class mindset. We cannot have a situation of an over-powering
executive dictating every turn in the country, shackling every form of opposition
or institutions which are meant to provide checks and balances.</P><P>Sultan Azlan
Shah, in making a point about the role of the judiciary, commented as follows:</P><P>
“In countries which practice a democratic form of government, the judiciary
has been looked upon as the defender of any encroachment to the rule of law”.
</P><P>We need to ensure that the various other institutions are protected with
adequate freedoms, to ensure the development of a first class mindset.</P><P><B>Globalization
– It’s Impact on the Country’s Direction</B></P><P>We must recognize
that we cannot close ourselves out to the influences of what is happening elsewhere
in the world, especially where the world has developed into a global economic
village. I submit that the forces that dictate the direction of globalization
has thus far only concentrated on the economic aspects of it, with it benefiting
only a small minority. The promise of globalization benefiting the majority of
the world’s population has not been delivered. As a matter of fact, the gap
or the divide between the haves and the have-nots have widened.</P><P>The 2005
Human Development Report revealed that the world’s richest 500 individuals
have a combined income greater than that of the poorest 416 million, and that
2.5 billion people (40% of the world’s population) live on less than US$
2 a day. The richest 10%, almost all of whom live in high-income countries, account
for 54%.</P><P>I am optimistic that we are moving in the right direction to correct
this situation, with pressure being imposed by many segments of the global society
to address this problem. What is needed is an international architecture to put
in place a global system of governance which would ensure that the world’s
population benefits from the creation of wealth and that their rights are protected.</P><P>Undeniably,
this would prove to be a difficult task, as there would be different customs and
concepts which would have to be dealt with. Kishore Mahbuhani, Singapore’s
deputy Foreign Secretary, discussing the acceptance of human rights in Asia, wrote:</P><P>
“There is no unified Asian view on human rights and freedom of the press.
These are Western concepts. Asians are obliged to react to them.” </P><P>There
is certainly a compelling need for the international community to come to some
form of an agreement on minimum labour, environmental and human rights standards,
which would guarantee that people do not suffer or pay a price as a result of
economic globalization. Whilst many of the leaders of the world have publicly
expressed their support for such a mechanism, little has been done to make any
type of concrete moves in such a direction.</P><P>The International Monetary Fund
(IMF) have themselves, while promoting an open economy, now come out to state
that there is a need to ensure that the benefits derived from increased global
trade should be more widely shared. It has suggested that Government policy should
address two important areas:</P><P>1. education and vocational training, to make
sure that workers have the opportunity to acquire the right skills in dynamic
changing economies ; and</P><P>2. well-targeted social safety nets to assist people
who are displaced.</P><P>It is therefore very disappointing where the recent APEC
Economic Leaders’ Meeting had failed to address the issues concerning labour
and human rights abuses, focusing instead in unequivocally stating that the free
and open trade agenda would be pursued with the same intensity.</P><P>The issue
of income inequality is felt in Malaysia also, with the gap between the haves
and have-nots remaining wide.</P><P>The share of income of the bottom 40 per cent
have declined from 14.5 per cent in 1990 to 13.5 per cent in 2004, while the share
of the top 20 per cent having increased from 50 per cent in 1990 to 51.2 per cent
in 2004. The Gini coefficient has worsened from 0.442 in 1990 to 0.462 in 2004.</P><P>Can
it be deemed to be equitable by any standards to have 20 per cent of the population
control 50 over per cent of the nation’s wealth? The answer would have to
be in the negative, applying any form of humanitarian standards.</P><P>The people
of the nation must recognize and appreciate as to what is happening, in order
for there to be sufficient pressure to be placed on those who wield power and
influence to do something to address this imbalance.</P><P><B>The 9th Malaysian
Plan – The People’s Agenda</B></P><P>There is an interesting people’s
agenda which is part of the 9th Malaysian Plan. The Plan provides that the “creation
of a truly developed Malaysian society must be premised not only on a resilient
and competitive economy, but also on the basis of equity and inclusion for all
groups. While economic growth and dynamism must be vigorously pursued, gross disparities
in economic opportunities and livelihoods must not be allowed to persist and to
jeopardize the very foundations of national development.”</P><P>It is important
for such an objective to be met. It would be really pointless for the country
to advance economically, but where the vast majority of people do not benefit
from it.</P><P>The Government should ensure that workers are not left behind in
the process of national development. Workers rights should be given due attention.
As a result of the wave of toeing the free-market line in the recent past, the
rights of workers and trade unions have been compromised on.</P><P>Employers tend
to promote the concept of a liberalized and flexible employment contract –
where the main aim is to reduce the rights of workers and the costs associated
with employing them. Malaysia should not treat its workers in such a despicable
manner, joining in a “race to the bottom”. With economic advancement,
we should seek to uplift the standard of living of workers.</P><P>Standard of
living cannot be associated with just the monetary aspects, as it would be detrimental
to the interest of the larger society if people were forced to work more than
eight hours a day – which is often the case these days as such workers need
the funds to ensure that the basic necessities of themselves and their families
are met.</P><P>There must be a minimum standard of living, and this can only be
achieved if labour legislation in this country is revised to meet a minimum standard
for workers. Many organizations these days do not make overtime payment to employees
outside the scope of the Employment Act 1955, despite the fact that they have
to work more than eight hours or their contractual hours of work. Employers can
therefore schedule work for ten to twelve hours a day without having to compensate
such employees for work done in excess of their contractual hours. As a matter
of fact, there is also no legislation which provides for any minimum benefits
for employees outside the scope of the Employment Act i.e. which generally means
those earning in excess of RM 1,500.00.</P><P>The Malaysian Trade Union Congress
(MTUC) would support the Government’s initiative to reduce the disparity
or inequity which currently prevails in the level of income in the country. I
would also like to urge the Government to consider following :</P><P><B>1. Minimum
Wage</B></P><P>The country needs a minimum wage mechanism in this time and age,
particularly where capital investment by Multinational Enterprises is with the
objective of maximizing profits. This cannot be allowed to continue, not where
Malaysian workers suffer from it.</P><P>We have in place a Wages Council Act already,
which has since become outdated. I would like to urge the Government to make a
move towards revising it and updating it for it to cover all industries. If it
is not possible to revise this Act, a new one covering a minimum wage for all
employees should be introduced. The labour movement would be willing to meet with
all the representatives of Parliament to explain this move and its relevance and
importance to the Malaysian workforce.</P><P>The argument of employers that it
would cause investors to look unfavorably towards this country cannot hold water.
A minimum wage system exists in many of the developed nations, which has not stymied
their economic progress nor stood in the way of their progress in achieving a
first class mindset.</P><P>We must surely recognize that it is unethical and immoral
to pay workers wages at levels where they are unable to meet the basic economic
needs of themselves and their families.</P><P>It would be appropriate here for
me to quote G.B Shaw , who once said, “A day’s work is a day’s
work, neither more nor less, and the man who does it need’s a day’s
sustenance, a night’s repose and due leisure, whether he be a painter or
a ploughman.”</P><P><B>2. Trade Union Rights</B></P><P>It is an inalienable
right for workers to choose to be represented by a free and independent trade
union of their choice. The MTUC is concerned about the type of anti-union activities
which are currently being practiced and is taking some very firm measures to highlight
such acts and expose the perpetrators of anti-union activities.</P><P>The ingenious
measures employed by some employers in this regard seem to know no bounds.</P><P>Workers
who join Unions have been asked to resign, or threatened with dismissal. This
is a form of blackmail, depriving workers of the Constitutional and legal right
to be a member of a trade union. There are other more subtle forms of anti-union
activities, such as discrimination, bullying and harassment. Whilst this is prohibited
by law, it would seem that such employers have scant regard for the laws of the
land. I would urge all employers to refrain from such activities, wherever this
is being practiced, and would like to state that the MTUC is taking an increasingly
serious view of these occurrences. It is creating greater awareness and training
its affiliates to deal with any such practices.</P><P>Another are with requires
immediate attention is that of recognition claims – a prerequisite for collective
bargaining. The processing of such claims are taking far too long, in some cases
between three to five years. The Ministry of Human Resources must place greater
emphasis in dealing with such claims. Employers are taking advantage of such delays
and often using undesirable ways to frustrate the process.</P><P>In the interest
of time, I have only elected to highlight these two major issues for our discussion
today.</P><P><B>Conclusion</B></P><P>The achievement of a first class mindset
can only be achieved if the various institutions within the country as highlighted
in this paper are strengthened, with the respect of human rights being paramount.</P><P>We
all welcome economic progress, but it must be progress for all the people of this
country – not just a select few. We must also guard against the freefall
to the bottoming out of labour rights, which would result in a social catastrophe
in the final analysis.</P><P>This country is endowed with great resources, among
which its people, and it is only right that the interest of the larger Malaysian
population – a vast majority whom are workers – be taken care off.
Address: Wisma MTUC,10-5, Jalan USJ 9/5T, 47620 Subang Jaya,Selangor | Tel: 03-80242953 | Fax: 03-80243225 | Email: sgmtuc@gmail.com.com