Hontiveros voices concern for OFWs in Malaysia amid crackdown on illegal workers


Senator Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday voiced her concern for the welfare and treatment of Filipino migrant workers in Malaysia amid a crackdown on undocumented workers launched there this month.
Hontiveros called for more transparency on the part of Malaysian authorities regarding procedures for conducting raids and detaining undocumented migrant workers.
“While I understand that the law must be followed, I ask the Malaysian government to ensure that procedures take into account human rights principles and proper observance of ILO [International Labor Organization] conventions. It is important that as the law is observed, its implementation must be tempered to avoid abuse,” she said in a press statement.
Citing local sources, Hontiveros said that on the first day of the implementation of the crackdown dubbed Ops Mega 3, over 229 immigrants were arrested. Last July 6, immigration authorities arrested 43 illegal foreign workers in Kuala Lumpur.
The senator said that the phenomenon of migrant and undocumented work materialized as a result of exploitation and systems that are naturally disadvantageous to the vulnerable sectors of society.
“We have to remember that many undocumented workers do not wish to be in the situation they’re in, and that the real, systemic causes of the problem should be addressed if authorities want to really put a stop to the influx of undocumented work,” she said.
Hontiveros said that much of migrant work is driven by human trafficking and fake agencies that profit off of fostering employment debt among those they recruit, forcing people into undocumented work.
She said that the previous Malaysian government’s hiring policy required an employer’s consent before a worker could change employers.
“This has been particularly problematic in cases of employer abuse, intimidation and exploitation, and sometimes forces workers into undocumented work as a way of escaping harmful situations,” she said.
“This is something that requires change on multiple fronts, most especially labor policy. We should never dehumanize workers. Because I am sure that if the law permitted more flexible means of entering work legally, they wouldn’t have to resort to undocumented living as a means of protecting themselves,” Hontiveros added.
A 2013 estimate by the Commission on Filipinos Overseas counted 793,580 Filipinos in Malaysia. — BM, GMA News

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