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Increase wages to address labour shortage, says Penang DAP deputy chairman

KUALA LUMPUR: The government should increase wages and improve working conditions in traditional sectors so local workers are willing to work.

Penang DAP deputy chairman Dr P. Ramasamy said the government should put in the efforts to address local workers' disinterest in traditional sectors, contributing to the country's labour shortage.

"No effort has been taken by the government to determine why local workers are not interested in working in the sector" he said in his Facebook posting today.

The main reason local employees are not interested in the low wages.

"They need to improve wages rates and non-conducive living environment. Since local workers are reluctant to work in these sectors, there is a big need for foreign workers"

He added that the government recently plans to allow entry of 500,000 foreign workers into Malaysia to overcome the shortage of local labour.

"Their entry might be able to address some of the labour shortage problems in sectors such as plantation, agriculture and construction. Forced labour is common in this sector which mostly employs foreign labourers,"

Previously, National Recovery Council member Datuk Michael Kang said last October that Malaysia needed a total of 500,000 foreign workers due to labour shortage in micro, small and medium enterprises to support the country's recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Following that, Human Resources Minister V. Sivakumar announced plans to bring in 500,000 foreign workers from 15 countries to work in sectors deemed unattractive to local labour, such as plantation, agriculture and construction.

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