MALAYSIA’S decision to formally act against forced labour and human trafficking will have a huge impact on its international standing as these issues have been a blot on the country’s image.
By ratifying the International Labour Organisation’s Protocol 29, we will commit ourselves to acting against the mistreatment of all workers, especially migrant workers.
Malaysia may be the world’s biggest exporter of rubber gloves, but some companies have been accused of violating labour standards.
The consequence is that their exports have often been withheld from release in other countries due to violations including “debt bondage, excessive overtime, abusive working and living conditions, and retention of identity documents.”
Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan has made many surprise checks on dormitories of glove manufacturers to see for himself the conditions.
He has used strong language against these manufacturers, some of whom may be tycoons who speak of benevolence, but did not practise what they preached.
In 2020, during a visit to a staff dormitory in Klang where 4,000 workers were down with Covid-19, Saravanan described their living conditions as “deplorable”.
With companies violating international labour standards, Malaysia has, for years, bounced between Tiers 2 and 3 in the US State Department’s annual report on Trafficking in Persons (TIP).
This simply means that we have been unable to show convincing evidence of sustained efforts to investigate and prosecute allegations of forced labour.
Being on the watch list of the TIP report has been a stigma for Malaysia and the country has also been listed among the world’s worst offenders at Tier 3.
The TIP reportedly fingered Malaysia for violations “from sex trafficking to debt bondage” but The Diplomat said the 600-page report “primarily highlights the forced labour of migrant workers, especially in the rubber manufacturing and palm oil industries.”
According to The Diplomat, Malaysia at Tier 3 could face sanctions which would restrict its ability to receive foreign aid or loans from multilateral banks.
The ranking also placed Malaysia in a tight spot over its relations with the United States.
For instance, Malaysia was not included in three high-profile visits by top US officials to South-East Asia.
While there have been other reasons including political uncertainties, forced labour has been a thorny issue, as the Biden administration’s 2021 trade agenda places workers’ rights at the forefront of its trade policy.
It also means that US investors will skip Malaysia if we continue to turn a blind eye to forced labour and are perceived as penalising victims of human trafficking as criminals instead.
It is not just the US. The United Kingdom and European officials share the same sentiments.
Verite, a non-governmental organisation, in its 2016 report alleged that some 128,000 workers in Malaysia were held in “slave-like conditions and treated like livestock’.’
The Star’s R.AGE investigative team has also exposed how thousands of Bangladeshis were trafficked into the country using student visas only to end up working in restaurants, construction sites and plantations.
For sure, most of us do not want to hear such allegations but the mistreatment and exploitation exists due to a combination of poor legislation, corrupt enforcement officers and bad employers.
As early as 2014, US officials, including from ILO, had met then Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to warn him of the consequences of continued forced labour in Malaysia.
His efforts to get Malaysia visa-free travel to the US failed; one reason cited by Ahmad Zahid was our problem with human trafficking and forced labour.
The ratification of ILO’s protocol on Monday is the culmination of several actions by Malaysia including the minimum wage directive, and Decent Work programme with ILO which focuses on rights at work, future of work and labour migration.
Malaysia’s election to the United Nations Human Rights Council from 2022 to 2024 is also one reason why we need to practise what we preach.
To put it simply, forced labour is an infringement of human rights. Human suffering should not be tolerated or compromised, particularly in terms of labour.
But this is just the beginning. Malaysia will need to amend the Employment Act to allow for better enforcement and subsequently prosecution and conviction.
There must be stronger enforcement in the Act and the Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities Act, especially when it comes to minimum standards in living quarters.
Without doubt, the ratification must be one of Saravanan’s personal achievements as Human Resources Minister. Well done, indeed.
It may have taken Malaysia a long time to put things right but ahead of May Day, we have done the right thing.
