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?
He said that if the Government were to comply with the demand, the country
would lose its competitive edge.
<p>“Let’s be reasonable, we cannot allow our economy to be too rigid,”
he said, adding that a blanket ruling could not be applied to workers in all
sectors. </p>
<p>Fong said that the Government was prepared to discuss the matter with the MTUC
but adopting a confrontational approach would not benefit anyone. </p>
<p>On Monday, the MTUC had organised one-hour pickets at several locations in
the country. The biggest was held outside the EPF headquarters in Jalan Raja
Laut in Kuala Lumpur in which some 1,000 workers participated. </p>
<p>Apart from the minimum wage, the MTUC is also demanding a RM300 cost of living
allowance (Cola) for private sector workers. </p>
<p>“If we have a minimum wage of RM900, we would have to pay foreign maids
as well as part time workers the same amount. We can’t do that for everyone,”
said Fong. </p>
<p>Fong admitted that a minimum wage could be introduced for workers in certain
sectors such as dock workers and cargo handlers. </p>
<p>The minimum wage for most other sectors should be left to market forces, he
said.</p>
<p><i>Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/6/26/nation/20070626164320&sec=nation</i>
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