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 was responding to a statement by Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Bakar that the MTUC had a hidden agenda when it demanded a RM900 minimum wage and a RM300 cost of living allowance for workers in the private sector.
<p>Rahman said the MTUC was influenced by opposition parties.</p>
<p>"Our only agenda is to ensure workers’ rights are protected,"
Syed Shahir told reporters in Parliament House.</p>
<p>"Now is the best time to push for it since the prime minister has said
our economy is doing well. If we don’t raise the matter now, they can accuse
us of having hidden agenda."</p>
<p>Syed Shahir said hundreds of Barisan Nasional members were in the MTUC.</p>
<p>"Are they being manipulated (by the opposition)? Is it a crime to be a
member of a political party? Investors will come and go, whether there is a
minimum wage or not."</p>
<p>He said the issue of minimum wage was not new as MTUC had been asking for it
for years. He claimed MTUC had submitted five memoranda and requested numerous
meetings with the prime minister since 2004, but nothing had materialised. "All
we want is a conclusion."</p>
<p>Earlier, Syed Shahir met opposition members of parliament to voice MTUC’s
concerns over the proposed amendments to the Industrial Relations Act and the
Trades Union Act, one of which is on dismissals.</p>
<p>He said he was disappointed with the ministry’s decision to rush through
the amendments.</p>
<p>"Discussions were previously held between MTUC, the Malaysian Employers’
Federation and the ministry before amendments were made, but now most of the
changes were not discussed during our meetings. As a result, we are worried
that the proposed laws will have a negative impact on the workers."</p>
<p>He called for further discussions between the three parties before the amendments
were adopted.</p>
<p><i>Source: http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Friday/National/20070706082235/Article/index_html</i>
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