LETTER | Be fair to workers at all times

LETTER | It needs a tenacious Covid-19 pandemic for Malaysia to wake up from its slumber. However, I wonder how long we will stay awake. When the pandemic is over, I hope we will not fall back to sleep again.

How long have the undocumented and illegal entry of foreign workers been going on? How many amnesties have we given before this? The situation today is as chaotic as ever. Today, we need to know the health status of our workers but they are afraid to come forward for fear of being arrested.

More than that, the Covid-19 pandemic has also brought into focus other issues we previously ignored.

How many employers had provided decent accommodation for their workers? I am talking about basic hygienic living conditions, not luxury. Before the pandemic came into play, may I know who among the employers and regulatory authorities really cared for the living condition of their workers?

What about workers working in “slavery” conditions – long hours, poor ventilation, unfair salary deduction, and illegal retention of passports? Again, who among the employers and regulatory authorities are concerned with issues like this before importing countries started to ban our exports?

I think as a nation we have this insatiable greed for profit. We cut costs and exploit workers to the hilt not to gain competitive advantage per se. We do so because there is this penchant for big profit.

The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted many issues simmering under the surface for a long time. But as a nation, I think we should have tackled all this even before the pandemic hit us.

Decent living and working conditions of workers are important not just during a pandemic. These are important in good times and bad.

Be fair and be reasonable to the workers at all times, not when importers started to ban our exports or when labour organisations started to question our practices.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.