MTUC: Locals denied jobs at ports

Thousands of jobs at the ports in Port Klang are taken up by foreigners as some employers have refused to pay reasonable wages for locals.

There were more than 2,500 foreign workers from Myanmar, Nepal, India and Bangladesh employed as lashers, unlashers, stevedoring labourers, surveyors, drivers and general workers, MTUC vice-president A. Balasubramaniam told Bernama.

He claimed the MTUC’s affiliate, The Union of Employees of Port Ancillary Services Suppliers (UNEPASS), had brought this matter to the notice of the Port Klang Authority PKA management several times but to no avail.

Balasubramaniam, also the secretary of UNEPASS, said MTUC’s investigations revealed some errant employers deliberately refused, or made a conscious attempt not to hire locals.

“These employers also deliberately depressed wages and offered very low pay to locals.”

Balasubrmaniam urged the Labour De­­partment to probe this unethical practice so that locals could replace foreigners, in line with the Government’s policy of making sure locals were provided with jobs first.

Source: StarBiz