The Minister of Human Resources Dr Fong Chan Onn today confirmed that foreign workers are allowed to join trade unions.

"Foreign workers can join unions but they cannot be leaders (of the trade unions)," Fong said, estimating their numbers to be 600,000 to 700,000.

He concurred with Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) president Senator Zainal Rampak's comment on Sunday that foreign workers should be allowed to join trade unions so that they can have their rights and benefits protected under collective agreements.

A collective agreement is a contract signed between the employer and the union regarding the rights and benefits of the workers concerned.

Under the Trade Union Act 1959, foreign workers are permitted to join unions but they are not eligible to become the elected officials.

Fong also said although the services of foreign workers are still needed, locals must take over in the long run and most industries should be automated.

He was speaking to the press after officiating the launch of KPMG Consulting's recruitment website and human resource seminar in Kuala Lumpur today.

Discrimination

Human rights groups such as Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) claimed that in practice, however, many employers had actually prevented their foreign workers from joining the union by claiming that the immigration authorities impose that as a condition when they were granted work permits.

Since foreign workers are not represented in any association or union, they are easily subjected to many forms of discrimination.

Asked whether the foreign workers will be covered by a collective agreement, Fong said the negotiation is between the unions and the employers and his ministry will "leave it to the wisdom" of the unions representing the workers and the employers.

He added, however, that his ministry is prepared to offer a helping hand in areas where differences between the parties involved in the collective agreement may arise.

Retrenchment

Fong was also asked to comment on Zainal's estimate that about 90,000 workers in the electronics sector may be retrenched by year end due to the economic slowdown in the US.

"According to the report that the ministry received, the impact of the US slowdown on the Malaysian economy has stabilised," he said, adding that there are signs that the US economy may recover by the third and fourth quarter of the year

"We are confident that the electronics sector will begin to recover by the fourth quarter and the impact on retrenchment will thereby be less," Fong said.

On whether any plan has been put in place to help retrenched workers in the event the slowdown persists, he said that his ministry has been organising various job fairs.

Fong also added that the ministry has allocated about RM10 million for the purpose of training workers in the areas of information and communication technology. He said 1,300 workers have gained from this project.

The ministry has also set up the RM25.6 million Skill Development Fund, which benefitted 2,500 people.