Review on pacts and policies on foreign workers

KUALA LUMPUR: All agreements and policies on foreign workers will be reviewed, including wages to encourage local workers, Human Resources Minister M. Kulasegaran said today.
Although Malaysian workers must be given priority, he said the ministry will not get rid of foreign workers, who are already employed here.
Kulasegaran, who has strongly criticised influx hiring of foreign workers previously, said the ministry will also review the 2016 agreement between the Barisan Nasional led government and the Bangladesh government to employ 1.5 million Bangladeshi workers to Malaysia.
"All of that will be subject to review," he said when asked his plan on foreign workers policies.
He was speaking to reporters after visiting the Industrial Relations Court in Wisma Perkeso here today.
Kulasegaran also said the administration will temporarily allow foreign workers based on need as it cannot remove a big portion of the workforce immediately.
"We will allow foreign workers out of necessity, the priority is to be given to our workers, our people first," said the Ipoh Barat MP.
Kulasegaran added that there will be no problem in filling the vacancies with local workers in the sectors that demand foreign workers.
In efforts to empower local workers, he said the current Employees Insurance Scheme (EIS) will be continued for time being.
Kulasegaran has also ordered the Industrial Relations Department nationwide to work extra hours to clear the backlog of cases within three months.
He said although he wants to clear all backlog of cases within one month, he will allow the department to settle it within three months.
"I hope to accelerate this within three months ... I have told them to settle within one month. They have to come back and work at night or in the weekends to dispose of the cases without compromising quality.
"It is not fair for the workers to wait this long. And I will assist in the process," Kulasegaran said.