Recruitment of foreign workers via agents to be abolished soon

KUALA LUMPUR: The system of recruiting foreign workers through agents or companies will be abolished soon, says Home Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
He said the task which is now outsourced by the ministry to more than 100 companies, would be taken over by the Human Resource Ministry via Private Employment Agencies (APS).
According to him, APS are subject to a special act to ensure the intake of foreign workers is better managed according to existing regulations and laws.
Muhyiddin said negotiations with the companies involved had been held and the government agreed to give more time to these companies to place workers under their responsibility to selected employers.
"Our objective in taking the measure is to avoid several undesirable matters such as human trafficking and various issues relating to foreign workers," he said.
He was speaking to reporters after chairing a joint committee meeting with the Human Resource Ministry on the management of foreign workers in Parliament today.
The meeting was also attended by Human Resource Minister, M. Kulasegaran.
Meanwhile, Kulasegaran said the committee also agreed to implement by next year the multi-tier levy system in the hiring of foreign workers which had been implemented in Singapore.
According him, through the system, the levy payment would be set based on the number of foreign workers to be employed by the employer.
"The more foreign workers hired, the higher the levy imposed on the employer," he said. — Bernama