Thursday, February 18, 2016

PRM Bantah Bawa Masuk Pekerja Asing Mahu Dasar Buruh Asing Murah Dihapus



18-02-16

PRM  Bantah Bawa Masuk Pekerja Asing Mahu  Dasar  Buruh Asing Murah Dihapus

Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) membantah serta tidak bersetuju dengan hasrat dan alasan kerajaan yang hendak membawa masuk 1.5 juta pekerja Bangladesh dalam tiga tahun yang akan datang untuk mengisi bidang pekerjaan yang disifatkan Timbalan Perdana Menteri selaku Menteri Dalam Negeri Ahmad Zahid sebagai pekerjaan kotor. 

PRM dapati kenyataan menteri  tentang pengambilan masuk buruh asing ke negara ini bertentangan.

Pihak berkuasa mengumumkan akan mengambil masuk 1.5 juta buruh Bangladesh dalam tempoh tiga tahun akan datang walaupun sudah ada  6 juta pekerja asing berpermit dan masuk tanpa izin . Alasan ialah diminta oleh  pengusaha, dan pemuda-pemudi  kita  malas dan enggan bekerja dalam bidang yang kotor, tetapi pengusaha berkaitan menafikan bahawa mereka ada membuat permintaan tersebut.

Sedang pengambilan masuk pekerja asing panas dibahas umum, Timbalan Perdana Menteri selaku Menteri Dalam Negeri mengumumkan bahawa levi pada setiap pekerja asing akan dinaikkan dengan peratusan yang tinggi, pekerja asing haram akan diputihkan.

Apabila pengusaha membantah dan mengkritik kenaikan tiba-tiba levi tinggi yang membebankan, pihak berkenaan menjelaskan, keputusan   untuk  mengurangkan tabiat kebergantunagan pada pekerja asing, dan menggalakkan pengusaha mengalih kepada penggunaan teknologi intensif untuk mengurangkan bilangan pekerja asing.

Ini menunjukkan oada dasar tenaga pekerja pihak berkuasa ketandusan idea   untuk menangani dan mempertingkatkan daya produktif negara kini dan  untuk masa depan, serta berusaha secara beransur-ansur mengurangkan dan akhirnya menghentikan kebergantungan negara pada dasar tenaga  buruh asing murah.
Pada analisis PRM, masalah   ekonomi dan sosial  yang serius  melanda negara sekarang seperti kebergantungan  negara pada tenaga pekerja asing  dan soal dikecualikan  visa kemasukan pelancong negeri China  merupakan kesan negetif dasar pekerja asing murah dan sistem  rent-seeking yang diamalkan di negara ini.

Di bawah sistem ini, segelintir  yang berkuasa dan berpengaruh menerusi hubungan mereka, berusaha sedaya-upaya mendapatkan kebaikan dan keuntungan dengan cepat dan mudah  daripada apa jua dasar dan program ekonomi yang diadakan kerajaan.

Kegiatan ekonomi rent-seeking, dasar tenaga pekerja asing murah, ketirisan dan keborosan perbelanjaan  kewangan   kerajaan, penyalahgunaan kuasa yang terbentuk hari ini bukan  rakyat didahulukan, tidak manfaatkan rakyat, sebaliknya hanya menguntungkan segelintir orang berkuasa dan sahabat rakannya. Rakyat kebanyakan harus menanggung ketekanan dan kenaikan kos kehidupan, ekoran daripada kepincangan dasar dan polisi kerajaan yang tidak kena pada tempatnya.

Keputusan pihak berkuasa mengambil masuk 1.5 juta pekerja asing akan mengekalkan sistem upah murah, tidak menggalakkan peningkatan daya pengeluaran pekerja, kemahiran pengeluaran masyarakat tidak mungkin maju,  dan seterusnya daya saing negara  menurun.

Pekerja tempatan tidak dapat bersaing dengan pekerja asing yang dibayar dengan gaji lebih rendah yang tidak mencukupi untuk membiayai kehidupan harian pekerja tempatan. 1.5 juta pekerja Bangladesh akan menguntungkan segelintir orang yang diberikan lesen membawa mereka masuk ke negara.

PRM tolak  pengambilan masuk buruh asing . Untuk menangani masalah ekonomi kita, dan fenomena keengganan pemuda-pemudi bekerja di bidang yang kotor seperti yang dikatakan menteri,  menaikkan gaji pekerja , merangsang pengusaha beralih ke teknologi intensif , menghapuskan kegiatan ekonomi rent-seeking, dan menutup ketirisan dan keborosan perbelanjaan kerajaan,  merupakan jalan yang benar untuk menyelesaikan kebergantungan  serta terus-menerus haus pada pekerja asing.  Pendekatan ini  dapat meningkatkan taraf hidup rakyat dan kebajikannya.

Jika tidak berbuat demikian, rakyat negara kita kurang baiknya nasib, dan perlu ketatkan tali pinggang untuk hadapi masa depan yang  muram, atau rakyat perlu berikhtiar mengubahkan keadaan yang menekan dan menindas.

Koh swe Yong
Setiausaha Agung
012-2766551

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

PRM & 100 groups:- Employers should pay the Levy – Not Migrant Workers Immoral for Malaysia to take from Workers to overcome national economic problems

Joint Statement – 12/2/2016

Employers should pay the Levy – Not Migrant Workers
Immoral for Malaysia to take from Workers to overcome national economic problems

We the 101 undersigned civil society organisations, trade unions and groups are shocked by the news that the Malaysian government is increasing the migrant worker (foreign worker) levy to more than double the current rate, which since January 2013, had to be paid by the migrant workers themselves.  Prior to that, it was paid by the employer of migrant workers, whereby the introduction of the levy then was to deter employers employing migrant workers, rather than local Malaysian workers. This was also stated by the then Malaysian Labour Director-General Datuk Ismail Abdul Rahim who was quoted saying that, “…The rationale behind getting employers to bear the levy was to discourage them from employing foreigners…”  [Star, 16/4/2009]

Migrant Worker Levy Rates Drastically Increased as of 1/2/2016

The Malaysian government recently announced that, as of 1/2/2016, annual levy payable for each migrant worker is increased to RM2,500 (manufacturing, construction and service sectors) and RM1,500 (plantation and agriculture). Before this, the annual levy payable for a Migrant Worker in the Manufacturing sector (RM1,250), Construction sector (RM 1,250), Plantation sector (RM590), Agricultural sector (RM410) and Services sector (RM1,250 – RM1,850) which was so much lower.

This new rates in comparison greatly burden the migrant worker in that the annual levy payable per migrant worker will now be doubled, or even tripled. 

For example, a migrant worker in an electronic factory, classified under the manufacturing sector, who paid a levy of RM1,250 before, will now have to pay double, RM2,500. A worker earning a monthly minimum wage of RM900, which is the wage many migrants are paid, will now have to pay more than RM200 for levy, leaving them with only less than RM700 as their monthly wage, not taking into account all other wage deductions. This is most unjust.

It is unconscionable for the Malaysian government to target migrant workers in the hope of making extra income of RM2.5 billion for the country from the 2.1 million documented migrant workers in Malaysia to rescue Malaysia from its current financial woes.

Easily Exploited With Almost No Access to Justice Makes Migrant Workers Vulnerable to Employers

When Malaysia, introduced Minimum Wage, employers and employer groups complained that their labour cost had gone up, and they could not afford it. In response, the Malaysian government decided that employers no longer need to pay the migrant worker levy, thus the obligation to pay the levy fell on migrant workers themselves.

Contract substitution remains a problem. Migrant workers agree to come to work in Malaysia, but when they start working, the migrant workers complain that they are now paid lower than what they had agreed to in their country of origin with the employer and/or his agent. Many employers have also used the Minimum Wage of RM900, as the standard wages they pay migrant workers. 

Because of the debt incurred by migrant workers in coming to Malaysia to work, which is about RM5,000 and the practice of employers and/or agents holding on to their passports and work permits, migrant workers find themselves in a form of bonded labour, and not able to do anything else but just survive. 

With the very low wages, they receive; many are forced into doing overtime sometimes 4 hours per day, working on rest days and even public holidays to make ends meet. Malaysian law stipulates a draconian overtime limit of 104 hours every month. This means, in effect migrant workers can be forced to work for 12 hours a day because in many workplaces doing overtime is no longer an option that workers can refuse. As such, migrant workers and even local workers can be considered to be engaged in some form of ‘forced labour’.

For migrant workers, access to justice remains a myth for many. When they complain about rights violations, what happens in many cases is that they are terminated, and their permit to work and/or remain in Malaysia is also terminated. This causes migrant workers to be easily controlled and exploited cheaply. They do not even have the option to claim justice.

Employers Contribute Less to Migrant Workers Income

Under the Malaysian law, employers are required to contribute 13% of the monthly income, inclusive of overtime earnings, to the Employees Provident Fund, this requirement is not applicable to the migrant workers. This makes migrant workers cheaper.

Further, since many employers do not take in migrant workers directly as their own employees, but take and use them as workers who are supplied by the labour suppliers - legally known as the contractors for labour - it effectively prevents these supplied migrant workers the right to join in-house trade unions. Even if they do join national/regional unions, they simply will not be able to enjoy the extra rights and benefits that come by reason of a Collective Bargaining Agreement between Union and Employer, simply by reason that they are not recognised as employees. Calls for the abolition of the ‘contractor for labour system’ by trade unions and civil society have gone unheeded by the government. 

Malaysia recognizes that households earning less than RM4,000 a month requires financial assistance, and local workers do get a small assistance from the government through the BR1M program – but migrant workers are excluded from this benefit.

Weakening Ringgit Causes Migrants to earn 20-40% less.

Whilst, the financial problems Malaysia is facing, coupled with the increased cost of living - new taxes, increased transportation costs, and the weakening of the Malaysian Ringgit in relation to currency of the country of origins of migrants – it is the migrant worker who suffers the most. 

The weakening ringgit also means that the money migrant workers send back home to their families is now much less and this has a serious impact on their families/dependents and the ability to settle their debts back home. It was recently reported, that "For instance, employees from Bangladesh used to make 44 taka for every RM1, but now it is about 17 taka. The drop is very drastic, more than 40%."Even the ringgit to the Indonesian rupiah has seen a drop in value by 20%," (Malaysian Insider, 5/2/2016)

Unjust to impose New Financial Obligations On Migrant Workers Already In Malaysia

It is totally unjust for Malaysia to impose new financial obligations by law on migrant workers, which did not exist when they agreed with their employers to come and work in Malaysia for 3-5 years. Any new obligations especially of payment by migrant workers should only apply to new migrant workers who have yet to agree to come to Malaysia to work – certainly not to those who are already here and working.

The Malaysian Trade Union Congress(MTUC) and employer groups have been informed that employers will now have to  pay migrant worker levy. This was also mentioned in a media report, which stated, ‘The FMM[Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers] said the government recently informed employers that the levy burden would be shifted back to them. (Star, 2/2/2016).

However, employer groups have started a campaign lobbying the Malaysian government to re-consider, and the Malaysian government has been reported as saying that they may re-consider. There is concern that this re-consideration may not just be about the amount of levy payable, but also the question as to who will have to pay the levy – migrant workers or their employer?

Therefore, we the undersigned

Call on the Malaysian government in the name of justice, to ensure that it must be the employers of migrant workers that should be paying this Migrant Worker levy – not the migrant workers;

Call on the Malaysian government to also reconsider the increase of the levy rate, at this time whilst Malaysia, and especially small Malaysian businesses, are affected by the economic crisis and the effect of the falling Malaysian ringgit.

Call on the Malaysian government to increase the Minimum Wage of all workers in Malaysia to RM1,200 – RM1,500, to compensate for the increased cost of living in Malaysia, and the falling value of the Malaysian ringgit with  reference to the currency in migrant worker’s countries of origin. 

Call on the Malaysian government to abolish the ‘contractor for labour’ system, and ensure that all workers that are working in a workplace are all recognised employees of the said workplace, and are treated equally as workers.



Charles Hector
Mohd Roszeli bin Majid
Pranom Somwong

For and on behalf of the 101 organisations, trade unions and groups listed below 

ALIRAN
Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (ALTSEAN-Burma)
Asia Monitor Resource Centre(AMRC)
Asia Floor Wage Alliance
Asia Pacific Forum on Women Law and Development (APWLD)
Association of Human Rights Defenders and Promoters- Myanmar
Asociación de trabajadoras del Hogar a Domicilio y de Maquila, ATRAHDOM, Guatemala, Centro Amercia. 
Bangladesh Groep Nederland (Bangladesh Group The Netherlands)
Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies- BILS
BLAST,  Bangladesh
Boat People SOS (BPSOS)
Building and Wood Workers International (BWI) Asia Pacific Region
Campagna Abiti Puliti – Italy
CARAM Asia
Clean Clothes Campaign International Office(CCC)
Club Employees Union Peninsular Malaysia(CEUPM)
Coalition to Abolish Modern-day Slavery in Asia (CAMSA)
Crispin B. Beltran Resource Center (CBBRC),Philippines
CWI Malaysia (Committee for Workers International)
Defend Job Philippines
Fair – Italy
FAIR ACTION, Sweden
Foundation For Women, Thailand 
Garment and Allied Workers Union, India
German Clean Clothes Campaign
Homeworkers Worldwide, United Kingdom
IDEAL (Institute for Development of Alternative Living
IndustriALL Bangladesh Council (IBC)
Institut Rakyat
International Labor Rights Forum
Jaringan Rakyat Tertindas (JERIT)
Jatio Shromik Federation (JSF), Bangladesh
Karmojibi Nari (KN), Bangladesh
Kesatuan Pekerja-Pekerja Perodua
Kesatuan Sekerja Industri Elektronik Wilayah Selatan, Semenanjung Malaysia (KSIEWSSM)
Knowledge and Rights with Young people through Safer Spaces (KRYSS)
Labour Behind the Label
Labour Studies and Action Centre (CEREAL), Mexico
Legal support for Children and Women (LSCW), Cambodia
MADPET (Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture)
Malaysian Election Observers Network
Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC)
MAP Foundation (Thailand)
MHS Aviation Employees Union
Migrante International
Mission for Migrant Workers
Myanmar Migrants Rights Centre
NAMM (Network of Action for Migrants in Malaysia)
National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF), Bangladesh
National Union Employees in Companies Manufacturing Rubber Products (NUECMRP)
National Union of Transport Equipment & Allied Industries Workers (NUTEAW), Malaysia
NLD LA Malaysia
North South Initiative
Oriental Hearts and Mind Study Institute(OHMSI)
Panggau Sarawak
Paper Products Manufacturing Employees’ Union of Malaysia (PPMEU)
Parti Rakyat Malaysia(PRM)
Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM)
Pax Romana ICMICA
Peoples Service Organisation (PSO)
Persatuan Sahabat Wanita Selangor (PSWS)
Pertubuhan Angkatan Bahaman, Temerloh, Pahang, Malaysia
PROHAM -Persatuan Promosi Hak Asasi Manusia
Radanar Ayar Rural Development Association, Myanmar
Repórter Brasil
Safety and Rights Society, Bangladesh
Sahabat Rakyat
Schone Kleren Campagne (CCC Netherlands)
SEA Women's Caucus on ASEAN
Solidarity of Cavite Workers (SCW), Philippines
Sramik Nirapotta Forum, Bangladesh
SUARAM
Tenaga National Berhad Junior Officers Union (TNBJOU)
TENAGANITA Women’s Force, Malaysia
Textile Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia
The Collectif Ethique sur létiquette, Clean Clothes Campaign French
Think Centre, Singapore
UNI Global Union
War on Want
WARBE Development Foundation, Bangladesh
WH4C (Workers Hub For Change)
Women Peace Network-Arakan, Myanmar
Women Rehabilitation Center (WOREC), Nepal
Workers Assistance Center, Inc (WAC) , Philippines
Vietnamese Women for Human Rights
Yaung Chi Oo Workers Association-YCOWA
Yayasan Lintas Nusa, Indonesia
IMA Research Foundation, Bangladesh
International Trade Union Confederation(ITUC)
Women's Aid Organisation(WAO), Malaysia
PINAY (The Filipino Women's Organization in Quebec), Canada
Cividep India
Kesatuan Sekerja Industri Elektronik Wilayah Utara Semenanjung Malaysia
Centro Nuovo Modello di Sviluppo – Italy
National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia (NUFAM)
Pusat KOMAS
Perak Women for Women Society (PWW)
Asian Migrant Centre
Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights (CENTRAL)-Cambodia
Labour Education and Service Network
Mekong Migration Network(MMN)

Media coverage:- 

Employers should pay foreign worker levy, say civil society groups (Malaysian Insider)

'IMMORAL' MALAYSIA GETS A TICKING OFF: Bosses should pay the levy – NOT the migrant workers (Malaysia Chronicle, 13/2/2016))

Employers should pay the levy, not migrant workers (Malaysiakini, 12/2/2016)

 

The said Joint Statement was send to the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Minister of Human Resources, Minister of Home Affair (who is in charge of the Immigration Department), Opposition Leader in Parliament and SUHAKAM(Malaysia's Human Rights Commission). The emailed copy can be seen at ...

101 Groups Letter to PM Najib - Employers should pay the Levy – Not Migrant Workers , Immoral for Malaysia to take from Workers to overcome national economic problems

 

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Chan Ping Quan, bekas tahanan ISA, meninggal dunia

我们失去一位终身为反殖,争取独立、社会正义、平等,为人民社区谋福利战士。陈炳权为前马来亚劳工党干部,60年代增任民选增江市议员,在内安法令下被扣留。劳工党被当局解散后,从扣留营释放后,积极从事社会、社区、华文教育工作。

We lost a dedicated lofe-long fighter who devotes his whole life fighting against colonialism, works for social justice and equality, serves people and community. Chan Ping Quan is a cadre of Labour Party of Malaya, an elected Jinjiang Local Councillor in 1960s, and an ISA detainee. After Labour Party of Malaya is dissolved by BN government and following his release from Batu Gajah Detention Camp, Chan continues actively in social, community and Chinese Education works.