Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan said employers are allowed to rehire foreign workers who were retrenched earlier, but local workers must be given priority to fill job vacancies.
He added foreign workers could be re-employed in sectors which do not received encouraging response from local workers.
However, the re-employment of foreign workers is subject to certain conditions.
“Only foreign workers who are still in Malaysia, with valid work permits can be re-employed, in the same sector that they had worked previously,”
Employers should also ensure that the foreign workers who they intend to rehire to undergone Covid-19 screening before they start working, he said.
“Employers can access the MYEG website at www.myeg.com.my to view the list of foreign workers that have been tested for Covid-19,” he said.
He also reiterated figures of retrenched workers in the same statement.
He said as of July this year, the Human Resource Ministry revealed that 67,068 local workers and 4,753 foreign workers have been laid off.
On June 22, Saravanan announced the ministry’s decision to freeze foreign workers’ intake until the end of this year to increase employment opportunities for locals.
However, several private employment agencies responded to that announcement by urging the ministry to review the decision.
One local worker agency in Penang, Agensi Pekerjaan IRC Sdn Bhd, stated that although the government intention is good to protect the local workers, certain sectors find it hard to fill the vacancy due to local workers reluctance to work in that particular field.
“We have noted that among several sector that hard to get local workers are agriculture, plantation, and construction.”
“Local workers tend to shun these jobs as they feel these jobs are not well paid, 3D (Dangerous, Difficult, Dirty) and social stigma which create negative perceptions.”
“This causes shortage of workers in these sectors and we believe the suspension of foreign workers should be reviewed to avoid any disruption.”
“As for other sector such as manufacturing and service sector, employers and private employment agencies should increase their efforts to hire more local workers.”
“With current Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO), a lot of businesses has opened up with gradual economy recovery and more vacancies offered to grab.”
Adapted from New Straits Times, 13 Aug 2020