PETALING JAYA: The plan to bar the intake of foreign workers until the end of the year will not have a huge impact on employers, said Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) executive director Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan.
However, he urged the government to be flexible by allowing employers to employ foreigners who no longer have jobs due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We don’t need to send them back but allow them to work in industries that local workers are not interested in joining.”
Shamsuddin cited the example of the plantation sector which locals are not interested in, adding many locals shun such jobs.
To make locals take them up, he said these jobs need to be upgraded and locals have to be given additional training.
“They should not only be trained as security guards but also provided with first aid skill and fire-fighting training.
“They should be given a certificate once they complete the course which will allow them to get a higher pay. The job should also be renamed to reflect the training they have received.”
Shamsuddin urged the government to provide tax cuts on imported technology equipment to help employers improve productivity
He said as productivity goes up, salary given to workers will reflect this change.
Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan said there will be no new intake of foreign workers in all sectors until the year-end as locals will be given priority to fill up vacancies
He said the government wants to reduce foreign workers in the workforce besides giving priority to locals to secure jobs.
He advised job seekers not to be choosy about jobs to help the country reduce its dependence on foreign workers.
Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) president Datuk Abdul Halim Mansor said the freeze on foreign workers until the year-end will benefit local workers.
He said there are an estimated 900,000 locals who have lost their jobs and employers need to reduce their dependence on foreign workers.
He pointed out that under the Employment Act 1955 local workers must be given priority over foreign workers.
“We have an estimated six million foreign workers – 2.7 million legal foreign workers and three million illegals.
“This issue of having so many foreign workers in the country needs to be resolved.”
Abdul Halim said the pandemic has resulted in a number of foreigners losing their jobs and this problem must be addressed.
He said the economic recovery package introduced by the government is in its early stage and priority must be given to local workers.
MTUC secretary-general J. Solomon said the freeze on foreign workers is a wise move by the government.
He said the government is making the right move by putting local workers first and there will also be lower outflow of local currency.
He said this will be beneficial to the economy as locals will spend more.
Solomon said the government must ensure that when it comes to retrenchment, foreign workers should be the first to go.
