Although Malaysian laws offer exactly the same protection to migrant workers as to their local counterparts, reality has proven otherwise, a labour movement seminar was told today.

Lawyer P Jaya Singam said there is not a single precedent or law that precludes foreign workers from enjoying the same rights and benefits as locals.

"But the reality is different. Only white collar workers or expatriates have a remedy in court," he told about 50 participants during a panel discussion at a three-day workshop in Subang Jaya.

"Ttoday, foreign workers are effectively excluded from collective agreements."

He said blue collar foreign workers are prevented from exercising their legal rights as they are repatriated even before any action can be taken against the errant employer.

The three-day workshop covers various labour issues in light of globalisation, productivity, laws, good governance and the government's role in managing trade liberalisation.

Conspiracy theory?

Jaya Singam, a member of the Bar Council Industrial Court Practice Committee, also hinted at the possibility of collusion between the government and employers in such instances.

"Trade unions have a role to play too, but in many ways they are equally guilty of conspiring with employers to sideline their foreign colleagues."

He said the general perception is that foreign workers have no rights under Malaysian labour laws.

"I only know of management restrictions which, to a certain extent, are prompted by the unions themselves," he said.

"The overwhelming influence of the Immigration Department and the refusal of other relevant government agencies to intervene and stop the repatriation until the court case is over is another contributing factor."

In the hotel industry, for instance, he said the union usually persuades the management not to include foreign workers when the service charge collection is distributed.

Jaya Singam also said no one can prevent a foreign worker from joining a trade union.

"Any move to do so is illegal and if a police report is lodged, the authorities can take action against the perpetrator."

Noting the reservations among trade unions over the hiring of foreign workers, he said that the plantation sector cannot afford such an attitude.

"That sector cannot do without foreign workers, although there have been allegations of social problems and their involvement in crime. But getting rid of them, as desired by many unions, is just not practical."

Definition applied

Malaysian Trades Union Congress secretary-general G Rajasekaran who moderated the panel discussion, cited an Immigration Department policy that prohibits foreign workers from joining any association while working here.

"The department's use of the word persatuan (association) is taken by employers to include kesatuan (union), and they are prohibited from getting organised. In some cases, the contracts they sign in their home country already stipulate this prohibition."

Rajasekaran also blamed the attitude of the Human Resources Ministry which refuses to ruffle the Immigration Department's feathers, although the former has agreed in principle that foreign workers should not be denied legal remedies due to early repatriation.

A trade union leader related how some foreign workers end up making life difficult for themselves.

"They want us to guarantee them a contract for three or five years as well as a high salary. When we tell them that is impossible, they refuse to join the union on grounds that it does not fulfill their priorities."

A panel member, R Sivarasa, noted that foreign workers in Hong Kong are afforded the necessary legal protection. He said they are treated fairly to stay on and find another job while waiting for their case to end.