KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 19 — The expression of support from the Bar Council shows that the government is right in standing firm against employers and employment agents on the issue of foreign workers’ recruitment, said Steven Sim Chee Keong.

The human resources minister said the ministry’s stand is that every foreign worker brought into the country should be paid salaries after they have signed the service contract with employers and employment agents.

He said this principle is based on the Employment Act 1955 and several court rulings on the issue of salaries.

"Our stand is clear; if you want to bring in foreign workers, there must be work available. But if for some reason, work could not be provided after they were brought in, salaries must still be paid from the day they were brought in.

"This is important to prevent abuse (of quota by agents) and a situation where workers are left in the lurch at hostels for months without pay,” he told reporters today after visiting the ministry’s Kesuma Madani programme site in conjunction with the Thaipusam festival at Batu Caves.

Sim said this would also deter employers from applying for more than the actual number of foreign workers they require.

Yesterday, the Bar Council’s Migrant, Refugee and Immigration Affairs Committee joint chairman, Datuk Seri M. Ramachelvam, praised Sim’s firmness in preventing cases of foreign workers being brought in legally and yet not provided with work by their agents.

This followed media reports that the number of unemployed foreign workers in the country has exceeded 500,000, which prompted Sim to order an investigation into the matter.

Meanwhile, Sim said he would discuss with the Health Ministry regarding allegations that Fomema had raised the fees and frequency for medical examinations involving foreign workers without consulting other stakeholders.

On the Kesuma Madani programme, he said it is a first by the ministry, where 200 Wira Kesuma volunteers would be sent to Batu Caves on January 25 to help the temple manage logistics during the Thaipusam celebration.

He said the ministry would also set up a booth at the main tent for the programme to provide employment information and register Indians for technical courses.

"The booth will be set up with the cooperation of the Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit (Mitra) because we want housewives from the Indian community to register for the Housewives Social Security Scheme (SKSSR) implemented by the Social Security Organisation (Socso).

"As one million visitors and Hindus are expected to attend the festival, we hope half of this number will sign up for SKSSR,” he added. — Bernama