KUALA LUMPUR (July 13): The Ministry of Human Resources (MoHR) is willing to work with US authorities in order to enhance and increase the level of enforcement against forced labour and human trafficking in the country.
In a statement, Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M Saravanan said he had discussed the issue with US Ambassador Brian D McFeeters, as well as the US State Department’s recent findings on the state of forced labour in Malaysia.
The minister stated that the issue of forced labour surrounding foreign workers has become a priority for the government, following several reports from the US State Department and other studies and reports by international institutions.
One of the latest reports on the issue was by the Modern Slavery & Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre (Modern Slavery PEC) titled “Forced Labour in the Malaysian Medical Gloves Supply Chain during the COVID-19 Pandemic”, which highlighted the presence of forced labour in the rubber glove manufacturing industry.
“In dealing with the issue of forced labour, inter-agency and inter-ministerial cooperation is not enough, cooperation with foreign countries, supranational organisations, non-government agencies (NGOs) and civil society also plays an important role,” said Saravanan.
Saravanan also elucidated that he had informed McFeeters of several initiatives and policy measures that the government is planning to implement in order to combat forced labour.
This includes the strengthening and enhancement of the Employment Act 1955 (Act 265), and the Workers’ Minimum Standards of Housing, Accommodation and Amenities Act 1990 (Act 446) throughout 2020 and until June 2021, involving the opening of 194 investigating papers.
At the same time, he highlighted that the MoHR is working with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in developing a National Response Plan regarding both forced and child labour which will be launched in the fourth quarter of this year.
Additionally, the ministry has also developed the Working for Workers portable application to deal with complaints involving labour issues in May, with 17 categories of complaints.
As of July 11, a total of 5,675 complaints have been received, with the ministry having taken action on 4,105 of them.
“All proposals and constructive comments that have been received from the US State Department’s annual report in 2021 as well as the Modern Slavery PEC’s study will be examined by the ministry in order to improve available measures while ensuring a comprehensive and structured approach is developed under the MoHR’s capacity as chair of the Special Committee to Study Labour Trafficking under the Anti-Human Trafficking and Anti-Migrant Smuggling Council,” the minister concluded.
On July 2, news reports, quoting the US State Department, claimed that Malaysia's predominant human trafficking crime is forced labour.
It was reported that in a teleconference with reporters, acting director of the State Department's trafficking office Kari Johnstone said the overwhelming majority of trafficking victims in Malaysia are migrant workers, of which there are an estimated two million who are documented and a greater number who are undocumented.
It was also reported that Malaysia’s downgrade to tier three — the lowest one — in the latest Trafficking in Persons Report followed complaints by rights groups and US authorities over alleged exploitation of migrant workers in plantations and factories.