Putrajaya to allow rehiring of migrant workers in 4 sectors

The government today announced that employers will be allowed to rehire foreign workers in four sectors, namely the restaurant sector, cargo, wholesale and retail, and cleaning and laundering.

In a joint statement, Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin and Human Resources Minister M Saravanan said the plan to rehire foreign workers is included in Putrajaya’s Labour Recalibration Programme for undocumented migrants.

They said the government had agreed to include undocumented workers from several categories in the plan, namely those who have registered for the rehiring programme but have not completed the registration process and have yet to receive a temporary pass, those who have fled but have not been reported by their employers, and those with valid travel documents from their country of origin.

They said private employment agencies licensed under the Private Employment Agencies Act 1981 would also be involved to help expedite implementation of the programme.

“However, employers still need to go to the Malaysian Immigration Department for matters such as the collection of biometric details,” they added.

Saravanan previously said the government was considering rehiring foreign workers for certain sectors in the country, adding that employers were facing difficulties as locals were not keen on working in the plantation, agriculture, manufacturing and construction sectors.

He also said his ministry was concerned about the challenges employers face in finding employees willing to work in the dirty, difficult and dangerous (3D) industry.

However he assured that locals would always be prioritised for job vacancies in this sector.