Saturday, November 7, 2009

Got maid? Human Resources Ministry wants to visit

MALACCA, Nov 7 – The Human Resources Ministry, through the Manpower Department, will make random visits to homes to get feedback about the situation of foreign maids, especially those from Indonesia, said Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam.
“These visits that will begin in Lembah Klang beginning December 1 are friendly visits not intended to scare anyone as we want to know the relationship between maids and employers,” he said, adding that such visits will be extended to the whole country.
He said the maids visited would be told of their rights and given a number to call if there was any abuse.
Dr Subramaniam said the visits would be done together with officers of the Home Ministry with the intention to make people act to provide information if there was any abuse.
He said this to reporters after presenting certificates and diplomas to students of the Manpower Department Training Institute (ILJTM) at Ayer Keroh here today.
He also said his ministry will look into requests for foreign workers for several industrial sectors that have recovered from the economic slump.
He said among sectors identified lacking labour were the electronic industry, the furniture industry, the plastics industry and the rubber glove industry.
“These industries now face labour shortage due to increased global demand,” he said. According to him, as of now it was estimated that the industries that had been revived since the middle of the year needed about 20,000 workers to meet demand.
He said demand for foreign workers would be discussed in a special committee before it was brought to the Cabinet. Earlier, in his speech he said RM504 million had been allocated under the 2010 budget to build, upgrade and maintain equipment at ILJTM.
“This allocation clearly reflects the trust of our leaders in the ministry’s and the department’s efforts to enhance labour quality and train and equip the labour force to meet market demands,” he said. – Bernama

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