Expat's hiring irks trade union

Expat's hiring irks trade union

KUALA LUMPUR (AP): Malaysia' largest labor organization slammed companies yesterday that favored employing expatriates over locals, the national news agency reported.

Employing foreigners instead of Malaysians is "morally wrong," Zainal Rampak, president of the Malaysian Trades Union Congress, said.

Zainal was commenting on reports that a Malaysian private television channel had appointed an Indonesian as a production adviser instead of a Malaysian, Bernama news agency said. And the production adviser had reportedly employed an Indonesian production team to work for him, it said.

Employing foreigners in television stations is "totally unacceptable" at a time when Malaysia's first private station is likely to retrench about 700 local workers, he said. He did not name any other company as favoring foreigners.