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Activists Warns Malaysia Agreement May Not Protect Migrant Workers
Ismira Lutfia  | March 25, 2011

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An activist for migrant worker rights has welcomed a plan to sign an agreement on the placement of Indonesian workers in Malaysia, but warns the deal falls short of ensuring the workers’ full protection.

The Indonesian Migrant Workers Trade Union (SPMI) said on Thursday that the memorandum of understanding between Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur would be difficult to implement because it was a government-to-government agreement, with little consequence for employers or workers.

SPMI chairman Muhammad Iqbal said the provisions on workers’ rights should not have been hard to negotiate, as they were basic rights, such as being given one day off per week and the right to retain their passports.

He further argued that because the agreement was an MoU, it was not legally binding for employers to fulfill the stated terms.

“If employers refuse to give their workers a day off, who will reprimand them?” he said, adding that if the government was serious about ensuring the protection of its migrant workers, it should set up an in-country representative office to deal with their problems.

Iqbal said the labor attache assigned to the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur was unable to adequately deal with the thousands of Indonesians working in Malaysia.

The Manpower and Transmigration Ministry announced on Monday that it would sign the MoU in Jakarta this May, ending an almost two-year moratorium on sending migrant workers to Malaysia following a string of abuses by employers.

Minister Muhaimin Iskandar said the agreement was finalized after a meeting with his Malaysian counterpart, Datuk S. Subramaniam, in Kuala Lumpur the same day.

Besides the workers’ weekly day off and their right to keep their passports, the ministers also agreed that the workers would have their wages paid through bank transfers rather than in cash, Muhaimin said.

He also made assurances that the agreement would be properly policed, saying both countries had agreed to establish a joint team to oversee the implementation of the MoU.

“Should there be any cases arising in relation to migrant workers’ placement and protection, they would be dealt with by the task force,” he said.