The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) is blaming the government for allowing employers to hold it to ransom and dictate terms in importing migrant labour.

MTUC president Syed Shahir Syed Mohamud said employers are actually demanding for guest workers at a time when Malaysia is facing high unemployment.

"They are clearly asking for migrant workers instead of stating the shortage by number of workers needed," he told malaysiakini in a recent exclusive interview.

"This phenomenon must be taken seriously because globalisation poses a major threat to job security."

He, however, also noted the dilemma the government is facing in providing migrant labour and keeping the local unemployment rate low.

"The presence of guest workers does threaten the job market for locals, but we also need to consider their plight in being forced by circumstances to earn a living away from their homes.

"Ultimately in the battle for jobs, only the employers win because they suppress wages and use discriminatory devices to keep costs down," he said during the four-hour interview at the MTUC headquarters.

Syed Shahir said only a clear government policy on migrant labour can resolve the unfair distribution of job opportunities in the country.

"The challenge is for the government to not allow itself to be blackmailed by employers who dictate terms and to bring in large numbers of foreign workers."

One of the challenges facing the MTUC, he said, is to bring gender sensitisation and the rights of women workers beyond traditional maternity issues into the mainstream.

Big union challenge

"But we have to do it carefully given the local scenario as each country has its own peculiarities and values. It is through political consciousness and education that we can achieve this without scaring people off."

He said attracting young members into the labour movement is another big challenge for the MTUC.

"We want them to have a sense of belonging to trade unions and achieving this will be a huge challenge for us.

"However, I'm confident that we can do it by first listening to what they want and also speaking the language of the young."

As labour issues get increasingly complex and complicated, he said young workers should start preparing from now and not wait until working terms and conditions have deteriorated.

"I dread the day when our children or grandchildren think of trade unions as dinosaurs.

"They must see us not as an organisation reserved for old folks but as a progressive movement that can retain its relevancy in the long-term."

Syed Shahir believes that greater and more direct participation by young workers would be one way to attract more new faces to join trade unions.