Initiatives Underway to End Forced Labour in Malaysia, says Sivakumar.
Picture source : Malay Mail
By Pavethran Batmanathen
PUTRAJAYA, JUNE 20: According to Human Resources Minister V. Sivakumar, efforts to remove forced labour in the nation would be substantially increased as a result of the amendment to the Labour Act of 1955 (Amendment 2022), which took effect on January 1 of this year. He claimed that Section 90B, which imposes sanctions on employers who violate the Act’s prohibition against forced labour, was added today and is particularly responsible for this.
This, according to him, was one of the steps taken to address difficulties with forced labour as well as those identified by the US Department of State in its evaluation in its Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report for 2023, which was published yesterday. After spending the previous two years at Tier 3, Sivakumar said Malaysia was pleased with the report’s placement of the nation on the Tier 2 Watch List for 2023.
Sivakumar stated that the formation of a Joint Working Group would strengthen cooperation with the United States and improve the country’s reputation while also ensuring that local products wouldn’t be subject to restrictions, such as a Withhold Release Order by the United States Customs and Border Protection Department because of forced labour issues.
He said the country which had ratified the 2014 Protocol to the Forced Labour Convention 1930 (P29) as well as in better dealing with issues related to the management of foreign workers, including establishing strategic cooperation with source countries
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