116. local workers vs foreigners

http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/05/23/job-priority-for-locals-says-labour-dept-director/

Job priority for locals, says Labour Dept director

Posted on May 23, 2013, Thursday

KOTA KINABALU: Priority is given to local job seekers to fill up vacancies that are advertised by employers in the state, Sabah Labour Department Director, Datuk Siti Aishah Mohd Asri said.

The vacancies are advertised on the Job Malaysia Centre portal, she told the Royal Commission of Inquiry on the presence of illegal immigrant panel yesterday.

“If no locals take up the job offer after one month, the employer can apply to the Labour Department to hire foreign worker(s) to fill up the vacancies and they can do so after obtaining a Clearance Certificate from the Department,” she said.

Source countries for Sabah employers to get foreign workers are Indonesia, Philippines, Nepal, Myanmar and Vietnam.

At the moment, the bulk of general workers are sourced from the Philippines and Indonesia with a negligible number from Nepal, she said, adding that other than issuing the licence to local employers to bring in foreign workers, the Labour Department also ensures that the conditions as provided under the Labour Ordinance are met by the employers.

These includes the welfare and living conditions of the workers as the Labour Department will also act on complaints from the workers themselves if the conditions are not met.

“We will go to the work place and investigate to see if there is any truth to the complaints. We also carry out regular inspections at the place of employment,” she said.

When asked by Conducting Officer, Manoj Kurup, to confirm that it was cheaper to employ foreigners, Siti Aishah said that it was not accurate as it was quite expensive to bring in a non-resident employee as there are fees and levies to be paid.

“So far, where wages are concerned, foreign workers, especially those who are not properly documented, will accept whatever is offered,” she said.

Siti Aishah, who was also asked why locals were not interested to take up employment in certain sectors like agriculture and construction, replied that it was because of 3Ds; dangerous, dirty and dull.

“That is the impression we gathered from what is happening around us. The Labour Department in fact encourages locals to fill up the vacancies in these sectors and we help out by providing training programs for them but we still find that employers are still having difficulties getting locals into these sectors,” she said.

According to her, among the sectors which can be filled by foreign workers are plantation, agriculture, logging, domestic servant, construction and sub-sectors like motor workshops and retail businesses.

Foreigners are not allowed to be hired as security guards in Sabah and this is a policy set by the state Government, she said.

When asked by RCI chairman, Tan Sri Steve Shim, for the reason why it is so, Siti Aishah opined that security is considered a sensitive matter by the state government and therefore would prefer to have locals employed in the sector.

Shim also asked Siti Aishah for her general view on the foreign workers quality of work and she said that it is felt by employers that they are hardworking and produce results.