KL to protect domestic workers

KL to protect domestic workers

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuter): Malaysia will amend its employment laws to enable it to prosecute employers who sack Malaysian workers and replace them with foreigners, the national Bernama news agency reported yesterday.

Human Resources Minister Lim Ah Lek said the government would amend the Employment Act 1955 and pending the change, Malaysia would revoke the work permits of foreigners working for employers who recruited them to replace locals.

Labor-starved Malaysia, with a population of about 21 million, has an estimated two million foreigners working for lower wages, half of them illegal.

Since announcing the registration campaign, Malaysia has launched a nationwide operation to round up illegal workers, including going house-to-house to check on maids' working papers.