KUCHING, Jan 13: It is high time for the Malaysian authorities to set up a Royal Commission of Enquiry to address the foreign workers issue, according to Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) Sarawak secretary Andrew Lo in a statement today.
Lo was referring to reports of the management of a glove maker revealing that its staff included 1,178 migrant workers whose permits were in the name of liquidated companies affiliated to a former company board member.
“MTUC Sarawak is not surprised of such standard modus operandi. Usually some inside crony makes millions supplying foreign workers. The companies have to pay all the commissions and fees and then complain that wages are too high.
“They don’t employ locals because the insider will not make millions. In a lot of cases, the companies don’t actually need so many workers, but are forced by the insiders to take them in. Just look at the so many foreign cleaners at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, or foreign workers that greet guests at 5-star hotels in Bukit Bintang,” claimed Lo. — DayakDaily
