DECEMBER 29 — Every human being should be treated equally and fairly. No one should be denied of their basic rights regardless of their status and this includes migrant workers.
Who is a migrant worker? A migrant worker is a person who either migrates within their home country or outside their country it in order to pursue for work. Migrant workers usually do not have the intention to stay permanently in the country or region in which they come to work.
Migrant workers who work outside of their home country are also called as foreign workers. They may also be called expatriates or guest workers.
Whatever name we address migrant workers, it is very sad to hear stories where migrant workers being subjected to unfair treatments from their own employers and negative perceptions from the society.
Why should migrant workers be treated and be seen in such hostile way? There should not be any reasons for us to treat migrant workers differently from us. Migrant workers are also human being same like us. Migrant workers also have family which they want to take care and support back home.
Why are they willing to travel far away from their home country to find jobs? People will not spend much money, time and energy as well as enduring difficulties going abroad to find work unless they are desperate and don’t have any choice. This is something we need to understand clearly.
Work is a central part of a person’s life that ensures the sustenance for one’s self and also one’s dependants. It is also an essential component of one’s sense of identity, self-worth and emotional well-being.
Article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 states that:
- Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment
- Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work;
- Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection; and
- Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.
A person may be engaged in employment in his homeland or abroad. Often known as the land of milk and honey, Malaysia has attracted many migrant workers which come from various countries like Indonesia, Bangladesh, Philippines, India, Pakistan, Nepal, and others.
The migrant workers span the occupational spectrum from professionals on fixed-term contracts to labourers who work at 3D sectors (dirty, dangerous or difficult).
Many of these migrant workers are predominantly employed as labourers in the country’s construction and plantation sectors, restaurants and as domestic workers. Some of them receive low wages and some were subjected to discrimination.
There were also cases involving cheat and fraud by agents and employers, exploitations and abuses, detention, denial of basic labour protection, and others.
It is very important for every worker including migrant workers to be protected at all times. Article 6(1) of the Federal Constitution clearly provides that “no person shall be held in slavery.” The term no person explicitly used in the above article reflects that neither local nor migrant workers shall be held in slavery or any form of servitude.
Further Article 6(2) of the Federal Constitution provides that all forms of forced labour are prohibited.
Apart from the above, Article 8(1) of the Federal Constitution provides that “all persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law.” Again, the words all persons in the above article would necessarily include the migrant workers.
Hence, physically abusing migrant workers such as causing hurt and their wrongful confinement is totally abhorred and is thus, prohibited by the Federal Constitution, the supreme law of the Federation.
It should therefore be recognised and accepted that all workers should be treated with fairness and full dignity without distinction whether they are local or migrant.
Migrants workers should enjoy and be equally protected under our labour legislations like Employment Act 1955 [Act 265], Industrial Relations Act 1967 [Act 177], Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 [Act 514], and others.
There is also an urgent need for Malaysia to relook how migrant workers are stationed in this country. The recent exposure over unsympathetic and uncivilised treatment over migrant workers by few factories need serious attention and required immediate action by the government and all the enforcement agencies.
We are not sure about the life and fate of migrant workers in other factories throughout the country which are not been exposed by media. The recent exposure in these few factories might just be the tip of the iceberg.
A lot of these corporations might use cost cutting measures to maximise profit at the expense of a person’s dignity and foreigners are their primary targets as most of them are not aware of their rights or afraid to bring this up due to fear of being deported or losing their jobs.
Malaysia need to ramp up effort into relooking at living conditions of these migrant workers as their horrific living conditions significantly contributed to the spread of many diseases including Covid-19.
The first step moving forward is to teach all the migrant workers who come and work in our country about their basic rights.
All migrant workers need to be inform about existence of various groups and associations in the country which they can have access in order to seek immediate assistance.
Malaysia needs to inspect cautiously the background of all companies before approving their request to hire foreign labour. This includes checking the company past track records, their ability to provide proper facilities and accommodations for the migrant workers, as well as their capability in ensuring the safety and health of the migrant workers working in their place.
It is also important to educate Malaysian that every human life is equal to another. Just because migrant workers do not speak the same language and do not share the same culture with us that does not mean that migrant workers should be treated horribly.
They are migrant works living in horrible circumstances in Malaysia and this was done by some irresponsible companies which focusing so much on making profits instead of protecting the life and ensuring the well-being of their migrant workers.
If, we Malaysians, do not stand up and pressure these irresponsible companies to put an end to all the ill-treatments done towards the migrant workers, there is a fear that modern slavery will emerge and flourish in our country.
This is something which we must stop at all cost.
* Muzaffar Syah Mallow is senior lecturer at faculty of Shariah and Law, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (Usim); and Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman is the MP for Muar.
** This is the personal opinion of the writer(s) or organisation(s) and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.
