LETTERS: The Association for Welfare, Community and Dialogue welcomes initiatives taken by the government, unions and civil society to address forced labour.
This comes in the context of sanctions and measures imposed by the United States Customs and Border Protection on local companies seen as collaborators of forced labour in the international supplier chain, in regard to migrant workers.
The term forced labour has been relegated or reduced to migrant workers without considering the complexity of the issues involved.
One has to be aware of the overt and subtle practice of forced labour in domestic and multinational organisations, and also aspects of international trade approaches and agreements that offer a context for the practice of forced labour.
For example, the debate and statement on forced labour issues seem to ignore the neo-liberal trade environment where countries with a low-cost structure of producing materials and cheap labour are seen as competitive.
Developing countries argue that trade and labour standards should be separated so that they would not lose out on competitiveness.
Secondly, when one articulates about the ills of forced labour, there is a tendency to focus on the international supplier chain of migrant workers, while there are subtle aspects of force labour that are also affecting Malaysians.
For example, since the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a restructuring of organisations that has been done in bad faith.
Those who are not in favour by the management have been transferred to other department without mutual agreement, and compelled to work in areas where they have no natural inclination and skills.
The management of many companies have used this strategy to get rid of unfavourable employees. Is this not a type of forced labour?
There are also foreign security guards who work without days off and if they do take leave, their salaries are deducted.
Is this not a subtle element of forced labour that uses remuneration as a weapon to force a migrant workers to work every day?
It is obvious these issues are not debated.
Therefore, to address issues related to forced labour, there is a need to apply principles that should be adhered to by the government, private sector and unions.
The fundamental conventions of the International Labour Organisation should be adhered to and enforced: freedom of association and protection of the right to organise; right to organise and collective bargaining; forced labour; abolition of forced labour; minimum age; equal remuneration and discrimination (employment and occupation).
RONALD BENJAMIN
Secretary, Association for Community and Dialogue
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times