PETALING JAYA: Maria Chin Abdullah voiced her disagreement with the Human Resources Ministry’s proposal for employers to deduct 20% of foreign workers’ basic salaries for Socso, calling it “unfair”.
Human Resources Minister M. Kula Segaran said the proposal was to avoid employers incurring losses on investments to bring the workers in and as a measure to prevent workers from fleeing their jobs.
Maria, who is the MP for Petaling Jaya, said the proposal would affect foreign workers in the country as they do not earn much.
“This proposal is unfair to them as a further 20% deduction would surely severely affect their ability to survive in this country,“ she said in a statement today.
She also said there was no justice for employers who mistreated their employees and use methods such as withholding salaries.
“Did the Ministry also account for those foreign workers who are mistreated by their employers? Withholding their salaries will give these employers more power over foreign workers who are victims of abuse,“ she said.
“The government has a responsibility to protect all those living in Malaysia, even foreign workers. We must never forget that we are dealing with human beings and not merely investments.”
She said many foreign workers face hardships here as they are unskilled workers and do not earn a lot of money.
“In many cases they earn less than Malaysians doing the same job. Many leave their countries and come here to earn extra for their families back home. In many cases their families live in desperate conditions and cannot afford to wait years before they receive assistance,“ she said.
“I hope that the National Labour Advisory Council (NLAC) in studying this proposal does not forget to include the views of foreign workers themselves and human rights NGOs,“ she added.
Kula said earlier that the proposal was not new to the industry, as it had been implemented in Japan and South Korea and it was successful in addressing the issue of foreign workers fleeing.
