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Legalization of contract labour in Malaysia to be limited

9 March, 2012In a partial victory for trade unions, the legalization of labour contractors in Malaysia is to be limited to the plantation sector, with the government announcing an exemption for all other sectors from the recent amendment to the labour laws.

MALAYSIA: Unions and workers in Malaysia have secured a partial victory in their struggle against the legalization of labour contractors introduced in amendments to the Employment Act 1955 late last year.

The Malaysian Minister of Human Resources Dr. Subramaniam announced on March 7 that the recently introduced amendments legalizing labour contractors would now only apply to the plantation sector and all other sectors would be exempted.

The amendment to the Act was introduced late last year despite strong opposition from the Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) and the labour movement, including IMF General Secretary Jyrki Raina who wrote to the Malaysian government in November 2011 expressing serious concerns over the legalizing of the contract labour system.

Khalid Atan, MTUC President, said that the Minister's March 7 announcement on exempting all sectors except the plantation sector would be studied. As the amended law stands, it would have serious implications on permanent jobs and undermine trade union growth, he added.

Gopal Kishnam General Secretary of IMF affiliate the National Union of Transport Equipment and Allied Industries Workers stressed that the MTUC would continue to demand the full withdrawal of legalized contract labour. He concurred with Khalid that this law would still have far reaching implications on workers and unions. As long as the law is still in force, employers would have a legal basis to engage labour contractors, he said.