Bridge Divide among Foreign Workers, Employers Told
KUALA LUMPUR — The government is looking at several measures to reduce the incidence of trouble among foreign workers, including the provision of accommodations by employers, knowledge of Bahasa Malaysia or English and the appointment of liaison officers to look after these employees.
The proposed measures are aimed at preventing further fights like those which occurred in two textile factories in Nilai and Senawang on Sep. 23. In one incident, six Indonesian workers were injured when they were attacked by a group of Vietnamese over an earlier misunderstanding. Later that day, Bangladeshi and Nepalese workers from a factory in Senawang traded blows.
Following the incidents, employers have been asked not only to provide housing for their foreign workers but to have separate areas to accommodate those from different countries. But there are still doubts as to whether this will really solve the problem.
The foreign workers not only come from different cultural and religious backgrounds, they may even look different. As this is the first time many of them would have come into contact with other races, they will not be expected to understand or know each other's customs and habits.
It will therefore be easy for them to take offence over the behaviour or gesture of the other races and this could then lead to a misunderstanding. Without the ability to communicate with each other in a common language, the misunderstanding will deepen and physical violence may be the result.
To beat the language barrier, it is imperative that each racial group be represented by someone who can speak Bahasa Malaysia or English and can bring up problems relating to each party to the management. (The Star, Malaysia)
South Korea Set to Deport 18,000 Bangladeshi Workers
DHAKA — Bangladesh will have to take nearly 6,000 undocumented workers back home from South Korea by November to have a bigger access to the country's growing job market. Another 12,000 Bangladeshi workers, also said to have overstayed their visas and violated work contracts, will have to leave South Korea first if they wish to re-enter the country with fresh job contracts.
These workers can have the chance of re-entry visas with fresh jobs by virtue of their previous experience if they abide by Korea's new laws for foreign workers, South Korean Ambassador in Dhaka, Kyu-hyung Lee, said.
"Illegal immigrants with over four years of stay in the country shall be deported," he said on Sep. 29, hoping that Bangladesh would bring back the "illegal immigrants" showing respect to Korea's new laws for employment permit and legalisation of illegal foreign workers.
The Korean National Assembly passed a tough act in July that requires foreign workers, who have stayed there over three years, to leave.
Some 18,000 or over 88 per cent of Bangladesh's about 20,000 workforce in Korea are identified as undocumented migrants, having overstayed or changed jobs violating the terms of their contracts.
South Korea has got over 660,000 foreign workers and about half of the lot was billed "illegal immigrants", with Bangladesh holding the highest share. Armed with stringent laws, the South Korean government now plans to bring the number to 400,000 through deportation and legalisation, and then recruit fresh workers from different countries. (The Independent, Bangladesh)
Plight of Women Domestic Workers Highlighted
KARACHI — The National Consultation on Domestic Workers' Rights held here in early September, noted that the female elite of the country were among those exploiting women serving as domestic workers.
The speakers also described the exploitation of domestic workers as 'modern-day slavery' and demanded that the issue of domestic workers should also be covered in the labour policy.
"Domestic workers are part of the informal sector having no recognition, because they are considered unproductive and thus have no voice," said Faryal Gauhar, Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations, addressing the forum organised by the Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Aid on Sep. 2-3.
"We have female elite in Pakistan and I would hold them responsible for exploiting the members of the same segment of society," she observed adding, "I condemn it."
Dr Irene Fernandez, chairperson of CARAM Asia from Malaysia, said the abuse of domestic workers was horrifying, and described it as a global problem. "The same women who strive for their rights outside their house at the work place change their behaviour when they employ domestic workers to serve at their homes. They do not recognize rights of domestic workers." (Dawn, Pakistan)
Stiffer Fines for Overstaying Foreign Workers
SEOUL — The Justice Ministry said on Oct. 2 it will double the fines imposed on illegal aliens and their employers in an effort to reduce the growing number of illegal foreign workers in the country.
The ministry revised regulations to impose up to 20 million won (US$17,360) in fines for employers of foreigners overstaying their visas. The current maximum fine is 10 million won. (Yonhap)
