10 Firms Under Probe As Govt Declares War Against Forced Labour

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M Kulasegaran talks to participants of the RBA Foundation’s Regional Forum on Forced Labour 2019 in George Town, Penang, today.GEORGE TOWN: The government has declared “all-out war” against forced labour as it does not want to attract sanctions against Malaysian goods and services, which will hurt the economy in the long run
Human Resources Minister M Kulasegaran said to show it meant business, the ministry had already levelled 42 charges against a company, which he did not name. These include one of using forced labour
He also said that 10 companies were being investigated over labour law violations, including the use of forced labour
Kulasegaran said the government was planning more laws to give teeth to the fight against forced labour
He said with indications that the US might impose a ban on products made by forced labour from around the world, there was fear that other advanced economies might follow suit
According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), forced labour is defined as all work or service which is exacted from any person under the threat of a penalty and for which the person has not offered himself or herself voluntarily
“If any factory is alleged to have been involved in forced labour, their products will be disentitled to enter US markets; their customs officers will prevent it
“Once that happens, the triggering effect happens and many Western countries will do the same. Can you imagine when we cannot export to other countries at all, can you imagine what can happen
“If the police are not in a position to take action, we will take action. Our (ministry’s) net covers a big area, including protection of foreign workers
“It is no use when we use foreign labour to make goods and people do not buy them,” Kulasegaran said at a press conference at a hotel here today
Kulasegaran said for too long, Malaysia had been “condoning the horrible act” of forced labour, and had witnessed human trafficking incidents such as that uncovered at Wang Kelian, Perlis, in 2015. He said as a result, Malaysia remained in Tier 2 on the watchlist of the Trafficking in Persons Report 2018
He said while many companies were compliant to labour laws, some were “delinquents”, practising aspects of forced labour
Kulasegaran said the government would tap into the best practices by the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA), the world’s largest industry coalition, in countering forced labour
He also said his ministry was considering a self-regulating mechanism to look into forced labour and other violations, due to a lack of enforcement officers to keep tabs on this. He said through a National Audit Compliance system, companies practising self-regulating could be checked from time to time
Kulasegaran vowed swift justice against those who practised forced labour and said laws with more teeth against such practices would be approved in Parliament next month after deliberation by the Cabinet
Saying that the Children and Young Persons (Employment) Act 1966 was amended last October, he added that another seven acts related to labour laws needed to be amended by 2020
The seven are: the Employment Act 1955; Labour Ordinance (Sarawak Cap 76); Labour Ordinance (Sabah Cap 67); Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994; Industrial Relations Act 1967; Trade Union Act 1959; and the Workers’ Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities Act 1990
On another issue, he said a report from an independent committee overseeing and supervising the policies and management of foreign workers had been completed and was currently being viewed by the Cabinet before being released to the public
As of 2016, ILO estimates 40.3 million people are in modern slavery, including 24.9 million in forced labour and 15.4 million in forced marriage
It means there are 5.4 victims of modern slavery for every 1,000 people in the world, with one of four victims of modern slavery being children. - FMT

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