KUCHING: Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) Sarawak welcomed the announcement by Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob that the nation is expected to see changes in the policy of foreign worker employment as well as curbing the entry of illegal immigrants post Covid-19.
“We hope that there will be no U-turns. Decisions and actions must be consistent with the policy,” said MTUC Sarawak secretary Andrew Lo when contacted on Friday.
“One glaring example is the Social Security Organisation (Socso) subsidised Covid-19 tests for foreign workers, not locals. This will encourage employers to hire more foreign workers,” he said.
He said the levy had to be set very high to discourage foreign workers.
He called for investment into modern processes to reduce low-value jobs and also for restaurants employing foreign workers to be frozen.
“Tackle corruption which facilitates the employment of foreign workers,” Lo urged.
Earlier, Ismail Sabri had said that it was about time for the policy to be reviewed, seeing as foreigners were among the major contributors to the rise in Covid-19 cases in Malaysia.
He had said that although economic recovery post Covid-19 may be slow, the government policy would certainly place greater emphasis on employing locals.
