18/06/2012 (Borneo Post) - The shortage in labour is one of great prominence in Malaysia, more noticeably in labour-intensive industries such as the palm oil industry.

Malaysia is generally dependent on foreign labour – apparent across labour-intensive sectors such as manufacturing, plantations, construction, service as well as domestic help, all which requires an unskilled labour force.

Hwang Investment Management Bhd (HwangIM) head of equities Gan Eng Peng said the inflow of the foreign workers has changed the way our society viewed certain jobs such as hard labour, particularly in the sectors mentioned above.

“Many Malaysians refuse to do hard labour because of the long hours and low pay,” he opined.

“Due to low demand for these jobs, employers have to hire foreign workers.

“Unfortunately, there a few employers who hire illegal workers for lower cost.

About 75 per cent of the total plantation workers in Malaysia are foreign workers.” RAM Holdings Bhd (RAM) economist Jason Fong said there were still plantations which had less-than-optimal available labour inputs, which might lead to some wastage of crop yield.

“While the agriculture sector is labour-intensive by nature, mechanisation of some work processes is possible and reduces the dependence of foreign workers,” he told The Borneo Post. “Foreign workers contribute to the supply of labour in the economy and can suppress the growth in nominal wages.

“However, it must be acknowledged that with the scope of physical capital (or technology) that is affordable and available currently, more workers are required on the plantations to achieve sufficient economies of scale to optimise production.”

HwangIM’s Gan said currently, foreign plantation workers particularly the fruit harvesters and collectors in the palm oil sector were Indonesians and they chose to go back to their homeland as the oil palm sector was booming in Indonesia.

“The minimum wage policy alone will not resolve the dependency on foreign labour and attract local workers altogether,” he believed.

“The foreign labourers choose to go back to their homeland or other countries with higher wages when opportunity arises, whereas some of the local workers have bad working attitudes, are choosy and demand high salaries.”

Gan added that unskilled foreign workers were one of the causes that spread diseases, confl icts and crime, thus encroaching on public safety, security and health.

While this was true to some extent, they were not the root of the problems. “The responsibility of social stability rests with the government – through regulating and controlling the influx of such workers, employers, relevant authorities, recruitment agencies and outsourcing companies.

“The relevant authorities have to impose firmer policies and regulations for foreign workers, recruitment agencies and employers to ensure the safety of the country and safeguard both employers and foreign workers’ interest at best.”