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PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) has urged Malaysia and India to use all possible diplomatic channels to resolve the latter’s restrictions on imports of refined palm oil and palm olein.
It said the import restrictions would hit the industry’s workers and their families especially hard.
Sources told Reuters that India’s restrictions announced on Wednesday were in retaliation against leading palm oil supplier Malaysia for its criticism of India’s actions in Kashmir and the new citizenship law.
The move means India can now only import crude palm oil, and the decision will be damaging for Malaysia – which is India’s main supplier of refined palm oil and palm olein.
In a statement today, MTUC asked that both the nations “put aside any personal or diplomatic ego”.
“We are concerned that this move is resorting to an unofficial trade war and economic sanction,” said MTUC secretary-general J Solomon.
“When implemented, (it) will directly impact Malaysian workers in the industry and all related downstream sectors.
“Besides plantation workers, there are the refinery mill workers from all categories, the transport industry, drivers, contractors, fertiliser companies and their families,” Solomon said, adding that the ban could affect millions of Malaysians.
Noting that revenue from palm oil contributes about 7% to Malaysia’s GDP (gross domestic product), or RM6 billion a year, he also said that the import restrictions would affect the estimated 500,000 Indian migrant workers who were employed in Malaysia in various sectors – including those linked to the palm oil industry.
Solomon said that officials in India estimated that their migrant workers remit at least 90% of their wages back to India, or around RM2 billion annually.
“While the MTUC is aware that countries having diplomatic differences is a norm, we feel that Kuala Lumpur and New Delhi should take advantage of a 200-year history of friendship and common cultures between India and Malaysia to resolve the issue diplomatically and not use trade sanctions,” said Solomon.
“MTUC believes that the Indian move is a political one, although the matter is purely an economic issue.
“To cause much suffering to workers using an economic tool to do a ‘tit-for-tat’ is not the way to go as human lives are at stake.”
Source : https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/…/mtuc-urges-india-malay…/
Address: Wisma MTUC,10-5, Jalan USJ 9/5T, 47620 Subang Jaya,Selangor | Tel: 03-80242953 | Fax: 03-80243225 | Email: sgmtuc@gmail.com.com