PETALING JAYA: Intake for foreign workers for the second hand goods sub-sector will be given due consideration even though there is a general freeze on foreign worker intakes, says V. Sivakumar.
The Human Resources Minister said the application process for the sector began on Jan 25 after taking into consideration the needs of the sub-sector.
"The government had on March 18, made a decision to temporarily freeze the approval quota for the application of foreign workers for all industries.
"This move was to ensure the approval for 1.1 million foreign workers could be optimised to further accelerate the economic growth of the country without disrupting job opportunities for local workers," Sivakumar said in a statement on July 3.
He added that the Human Resources Ministry is aware of labour issues and will give due consideration for the needs of the second hand goods sub-sector.
In response, Malaysian Recycling Empowerment Association founder and president Datuk G. Kumaar Aamaan stressed that resumption of the intake of foreign labour for the sub-sector was badly needed.
"Foreign labour approval for the second hand goods sub-sector industry has become increasingly more difficult over the past few years as labour policies shift to favour more prominent sectors like service and construction.
"This has left many key sub-sector industry players with serious labour shortages as the approval process can take anywhere from a few months to a year, while the approval for other prominent sectors is sometimes done within weeks.
"This has only been made worse following the complete halt of approval for foreign labour back in March," he said when contacted by The Star.
He added rising costs and lower selling prices of end-products due to the current unstable economic situation have made it difficult for companies to turn a profit.
According to him, this combined with the labour shortage in his industry has resulted in many companies resorting to third party foreign labour agencies to fulfil their manpower needs.
"They need to sell more products to break even, which requires increased production but production can’t increase unless more labour is brought in.
"As a result many have resorted to third party foreign labour providers which are illegal, and when caught, results in punishment for the company, thus leaving us in a lose-lose situation," he said.
Kumaar also called for the simplification of the licence application process that is required to operate in his industry in order to stimulate industry growth.
"The current effort and waiting time a company has to go through to get all the necessary licences to operate in the industry can be anywhere from seven months to a year.
"This is due to the significant amount of licences companies have to get approval for from all the various agencies from local governments to the various ministries, depending on the type of recycling company.
"This includes licences for transportation and waste management from the Environment Department, manufacturing licences from the Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry, and Secondhand Goods licence from the police, among many others.
"Approval process for all the relevant licences should be centralised to quicken the process which would encourage more entrepreneurs to join the industry, in line with the government’s push for a sustainable green future," he said.
